Highway to the Danger Zone
by Renegade Seraph
Summary: AU Squinoa Squall is a leader of a small team of criminals, who especially like their diamonds. But on a routine raid, fate throws someone at them who is about to jeopardise everything. Suddenly freedom doesn’t seem so assured.
1. Highway to the Danger Zone

**Highway to the Danger Zone**. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything, not even the chair I'm sat on! So if you want to sue, expect to get nothing. Seriously though, all final fantasy characters belong to Squaresoft...

**Author note:** I try to make every story I write unique and different from the last. At least that is the plan anyway! Title for this fic is from a song by Kenny Loggins. I believe it is from the Top Gun sound-track, but I may have to check into that. Anyway, I suggest you find it if you haven't heard it before. 

**The Background: **A team of criminals have been sweeping Esthar, causing a record number of twenty- three major robberies in the past few months. So far, no sufficient evidence has been gathered by the police to connect the crimes with anyone. But as the criminals try for bigger prizes, will they become blinded and forget to cover their tracks? 

**"I'm a cowboy,**

**On a steel horse I ride.**

**I'm wanted,**

**Dead or alive."******

**~Bon jovi**

            A black motorbike sped through the dark, deserted streets of Esthar, sending a booming noise into the deathly quiet black air with a sharp change of gear. Sirens screeched after it with a piercing high squeal, and in a few seconds the owners of the noise appeared, skidding round the corner. A flashing blue light on top of the police cars broke into everyone's window as it pursued the mocking figure on the bike. 

            "He's heading down Bond Street, over," stated a voice from an electronic device. The statement was broken up into pieces with gaps of silence inserted where there shouldn't be. But the words were instantly understood by the trained ear. 

            The motorbike shifted into its highest gear and sped as fast as it could up towards the main road. 

            "Watch out; there he goes," commented another. "We'll cut him off at the East Road Bridge."

            The police cars continued to submit their commands and observations to one another, unaware that they were being listened to by a pirate station. The radio messages were now in the knowledge of a small team inside an old warehouse on the edge of the city. A tall woman with long blonde hair scraped up in a bun grabbed a pair of earphones with a microphone attached to them and sat down in front of a computer screen. Quickly, she loaded a map of the city. A moving red dot showed her the exact location of the speeding motorbike. 

            "This is HQ Owl to Dark-Raid1, do you read me? Over." 

            "Dark-Raid1 reading you loud and clear. Over."

            "They are planning to cut you off at the East Road Bridge. The nearest car is at Zone2 Garage. Over." 

            "Roger that."

            There was silence in the cold, abandoned warehouse--the same sinister silence that had occupied it for so many years. But this time it had the power to cut into their ears and quicken the beating of their hearts so they pounded in their chests.  

            "Quistis, where is he now?" A small figure asked from the other side of the room.

            The blonde woman flicked her eyes back to screen to answer the question.

            "10 minutes from the car swap," Quistis replied, following the little red dot with her eyes. After hearing this answer her friend looked up from her work and smiled. 

"Come on, Squall, you can make it," commented the smaller female to herself. Shethen buried herself back into her work, her face disappearing into a car bonnet to look at the engine. There was a loud amount of clanking and clicking noises from her direction for awhile, and then she seemed to give up. 

But still the bike raced on--the rider enjoying the adrenaline rushing through his veins until he was blinded to everything else. The entrance to the East Road opened up on his right and he swerved away from it and into a nearby garage. The police cars could be heard gaining ever closer every second, but they couldn't see where he had gone. 

A man with spiked blonde hair placed a helmet on his head and jumped on the bike. He gave a 'thumbs up' and sped out of the garage seconds before the police saw where it came from. The black clad rider watched the blonde man and his bike speed up towards the trap laid out on the bridge. Smiling in a crazed fashion, he threw his bag into the back seat of a silver BMW and started the engine. The car crept silently out of the garage and rode smoothly along in the opposite direction to the bridge. 

The bike now started to race over the East Bridge. A long line of metal spikes across the road could be clearly seen now, and the scattered police hid behind it with their microphones and guns. 

"**STOP NOW. YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO GO,**" shouted a voice amplified by a microphone. But the man took no notice and revved harder.    

The bike continued its dangerous speed until it swerved precariously and hit the service ramp before jumping the railing and plunging towards the black water below. Both bike and rider hit the water at the same time. The bike surfaced and was instantly spotted by the police left on the bridge. 

"There is no sign of the criminal," one of the officers commentated into his radio, his eyes still searching the water. 

"Yes!" Quistis screamed. "Selphie, he did it! He did it!" 

The small girl screamed and hugged her friend. 

"I knew he could," Selphie said, smiling. Quistis patted her hand and laughed, forgetting all her cares for that one happy moment. 

After pressing a few more buttons, Quistis brought the map back to the screen. The red dot was now blinking in the Zepher River. 

            "Dark-Raid1, where is your location?" Quistis asked into her microphone. Selphie sat anxiously next to her and looked at her face intently. A fuzzy noise came back in reply.

            "20 miles north of HQ. I'm about to take the connecting road now... Wait...oh, holy shit!" Quistis's eyes widened. What was happening? It would have to be something bad; there was no room for error in their plan.

            "What? Dark-Raid, are you there?" Quistis asked, almost screaming her question. Selphie jumped out of her chair and shouted into the mouthpiece until Quistis took it away. But it was no good; he was gone. "Selphie, he's gone."

            "But what happened?" Selphie asked, sitting back down to calm herself. "Our plan was flawless. What is going on?" 

            "I don't know, but Squall can take care of himself. We still have to get Zell home," Quistis said, choosing her words carefully as not to let her friend see her concern. 

            "Yes, yes, you are right," Selphie replied with renewed confidence.

            Quistis pulled a phone towards her and tapped in a number. The dial tone didn't sound for long until it was answered.

            "Hello?"

            "Yeah Irvine, where are you?" Quistis asked. 

            "Just on the way to pick up Zell from the dock. Is everything alright?" 

            "Yeah, everything is fine. Just hurry back, alright?" 

            "Will do," Irvine said, hanging up. Selphie shifted in her seat.

            "You didn't tell him about Squall," she said, looking questionably at Quistis.      

"He doesn't need to know that," Quistis replied, removing her earphones and relaxing on her chair. "I guess all we can do is wait." 

Selphie smiled. Seeing that her friend wasn't worrying, she relaxed also and placed a walkman on her head. Quistis held her breath to try and stop her heart from beating so fast. Squall's voice when he had cut out had been that of complete panic. Something bad had definitely happened. Quistis could only hope that he was alright. 

The door to the silver BMW opened in one fast movement, and the driver jumped out and ran to the front of the car. A girl lay on the tarmac road, her limbs in disarray as blood leaked out of her hair and mouth. Squall, being a master at controlling his fear, calmed down instantly and assessed the situation. He had run someone over, but he couldn't call for help, so there was no other option than to take her with him. For a moment he stared at her peaceful looking face and perfect features; she almost looked as though she was just sleeping. Carefully, he put his hand under her back and took her weight her onto his arm before picking her up. A sigh escaped her lips as she was lifted, and he walked with her back towards the car. Dropping her legs carefully but keeping her pressed against his chest to hold her upright, Squall opened the back door and carefully placed her inside. A letter protruded from her pocket, and Squall took it without a second thought. 

It was a bank statement. Her current balance, 3 days ago had been £300. Squall scanned the letter for a name. 

"Rinoa Heartilly," He muttered, placing the paper back into her pocket. "Miss Heartilly, can you hear me? Rinoa?" 

The girl fluttered her eye lashes and looked up at him with glazed eyes before closing them again. 

"I'm going to take you somewhere where there are people to help you," Squall said, moving her wayward hair out of her face. Rinoa didn't reply but the trembling in her chest told him that she was still breathing. 

"Owl, you there? Over." Squall asked into his radio. Quistis snatched her microphone and instantly placed it to her lips. 

"Yes. Over." 

"Just a minor problem. I'm nearing the turning and approaching home," Squall said, looking in his rear mirror at the girl in back. "You got Zell? Over." 

"Irvine is collecting him now," Quistis replied. 

"Roger that. Over and out." 

            Quistis exchanged a confused look with Selphie. What was going on? 

            Zell appeared at the side of the dock. His long underwater swim hadn't taken much out of him except for air that he soon reclaimed as he reached the surface. After shedding his biker leather, he looked as if he had been caught in a bad rain storm rather than a high speed chase. 

            "Ok?" Irvine asked as he rolled up next to him. 

            "Yes," Zell replied, climbing into the much appreciated heated car. 

            "Let's get going," Irvine said after Zell had strapped himself into the passenger seat. 

            "Yeah, I'm fucking freezing!" Zell said, grabbing a blanket from the back seat and wrapping it around his shoulders. Irvine laughed. 

            "Hey, you wanted to jump," he commented. Zell shrugged.

            "Couldn't let Squall do it. If he got caught..."

            "Yeah, I know," Irvine said, cutting him off. Zell shivered and leaned against the window. "We'll be back soon; try and get some rest."    

            Squall arrived after Zell and Irvine even though he had started off before them.   As the door opened to welcome him, everyone broke into sighs and screams of joy until they spotted the girl lying in his arms. Squall ignored all their stares and carried Rinoa up to an old work bench that they had been using to draw their plans up on. 

            "Bring me a pillow, Selph," Squall ordered, hearing Selphie instantly scuttle away and search for the requested item. She brought it back triumphantly. 

            "Here. What happened, Squall?" She asked as she handed it over. Squall took the pillow from her gratefully and placed it under Rinoa's head. 

            "I knocked her down. Thankfully, I was going slowly." Squall said, not looking up from the girl on the bench. 

            Quistis strode over with the first aid box, and Squall was glad someone else was thinking apart from him. 

            "It doesn't look to bad. How fast were you going?" Quistis asked, opening the box and pulling out some bottles of murky liquid. Squall thought for a moment. 

            "I'd just pulled out of a stop; I wasn't even in second gear yet," he replied. 

            "I doubt there is any real damage to her head, although there are a few cuts. She's hurt her arm pretty badly though. I don't think you collided directly with her, Squall," Quistis commented. 

            "There was a push bike." Squall answered, sensing that an explanation was what Quistis was searching for. 

            "She's been very lucky," Quistis said, looking over the cut on her lip. "I'll see to her tonight; the rest of you can sleep. Selphie may help if she wishes, but the rest of you need not stay up."

            "Wake me if anything happens, Quistis," Squall said, looking down on the girl and then at Quistis. 

            "Yes, of course," She replied. "Now, bed all of you!"

            The three men turned and walked towards their makeshift bedrooms. Rinoa would be safe with Quistis, and Squall didn't think he would be any help in the state he was in. Zell jogged to catch him up and asked what should have been asked at the moment he arrived. 

            "Where are the diamonds?"

            "They are safe." 

            "Yes! I knew you would pull it off!" Zell said happily. Squall watched him walk away and frowned. Yes, he had done what they had all set out to do, but it had almost cost someone their life, and Squall knew that no matter how often they played this game, it was never going to get easier. 

A/N: Massive thank you to Bianka-Chan for Beta reading all of this for me.

Don't forget to review!


	2. Finding the morning

**Chapter 2 – Finding the morning** ****

"Goddamn it--another raid!" shouted an angry voice into a room of very anxious listeners. The owner of the voice slammed his coffee cup down on a desk with a heavy hand. There was silence now, as everyone looked to one another for reassurance. 

            "The Golden Jewel, Sir, was broken into early this morning at 2:00am." 

            A file was placed down with a picture of the jewelery store on the front page.  

            "Shit. How did they do it this time?" 

            "Bypassed the alarms by drilling holes in the wall. They drilled enough holes to knock it through with a sledge hammer. The hammer was found at the scene, Sir. No prints."  

            Placing his hands over his face, he slumped over his desk. His short blonde hair remained perfect as he ran a hand through it. 

            "Shit," he whispered into his hands. "What's the status right now?"

            A large dark man looked up from his notes. 

            "Twenty-three raids--twenty-four including this one." 

            "The same team?"

            "The same," the man confirmed.  

            An excited young man rushed into the crowed office. All eyes fell on him instantly.

            "Sir. Agent Almasy, Sir! We found a hair on the hammer!" he said, looking impressed with himself. This caught the blonde man's attention. 

            "Excellent! Begin DNA testing immediately."

            "Yes, Sir!"

            Seifer Almasy, one of the government's top police agents, had been working on the case ever since the first raid began in the otherwise peaceful city of Capestone. This was a newly founded City, only 200 years old on the Esthar continent. The city being relatively quiet had not many crimes other that the petty squabbles on the streets. As a result, the big scale robberies had come as quite a shock to the local police force. 

            Almasy was posted out there after the first attack. His officers were eager and willing to work, but they lacked experience, and this was what Seifer missed most about his old team.

            This case had been taking a lot out of him. The raids had been carried out much too well for his liking, meaning that it was a highly trained team that was operating. And this wasn't the only town that had been hit. Other areas had been subjected to similar crimes in the past, and now it seemed like it was the turn of Capestone [Capestone's turn?] to be sucked dry.

            Seifer had vowed the first day he'd been appointed, that he would catch these criminal even if it killed him, unaware that one day he might just have to live up to that vow. 

*******

            It had been hours since he had had the disappointing news: the hair they had found hadn't been human after all; it had belonged to a pet cat. Seifer had cursed at everyone and everything after hearing the lead had just run out. Once again they had nothing to go on and all eyes were on him, expecting a miracle. 

            This had happened before. Partial finger prints on the cut wire of a security camera had once given rise to hope until they were found to be useless. The prints turned up thousands of matches on the database and was discarded.     

            One of Seifer's colleagues walked casually into his office with a box of assorted mini cakes. Seifer looked up, annoyed at the breech in his privacy and frowned until he saw who it was. Raijin stood firm against Seifer's annoyed gaze. 

            The large, dark man handed the cake box towards Seifer who took the nearest one, eating it without even noticing the chocolaty taste. 

            "So...What do we do next, Sir?"

            Seifer thought carefully. What _did_ they do? How could they justify sitting around and waiting for the next attack? Yet, what other option did they have? Making what small evidence they did have known to the public might drive the criminals away or scare then into being even more cautious. 

            No, Seifer believed that if they held on, they would eventually slip up and give themselves away. 

            "We hang on. Nobody stays careful long; they'll make a mistake soon and we'll be ready," Seifer said with more confidence than he actually felt. 

            It was a desperate hope and he knew it. His job would certainly be on the line if his superiors ever found out that he had ordered his squad to do nothing. 

            But there was no alternative. 

            What little information they did have was stored in the police criminal network. 

            They knew that for the team to operate successfully there must be about 5 of them. Some of the break-ins before had been so complicated that it would've taken at least 5 to pull it off. 

            At least 2 were male. Last night's escapade had proven this once more. No matter how this world called for equalization between the sexes, Seifer was positive that no woman would have been strong enough to bash through the wall with that sledge hammer. Also the motorbike stunt was a clue to a second male. 

            Seifer had put together a plan of how he thought the night's crime had been completed. Calling his colleagues in for a meeting, he stood in front waiting for silence. 

            "2 males arrived at the Golden Jewel at 1:40am this morning. One drove a car, the other the get- away vehicle, and in this case a motorbike. The car has not been identified," he said, breaking for air and dramatic effect. "In the car are the drill and the hammer. The side street is noisy, there is a pub nearby, and nobody hears the drill. They knew that it would be noisy on a Friday night, meaning they've been here before. They also knew that the back entrance alleyway would be empty." 

            Everything was beginning to come together now from the mess they had found only a few hours ago. Seifer looked into every face before continuing.

            "The two proceed to bash the now weakened wall with the hammer. This bypasses all the alarms at the front of the shop, allowing easy access. The first male with the car now leaves, but he forgets to take the hammer. The second male enters the shop and steals the jewels," Seifer finished. 

            There was silence now. A stunned silence, rather than the restless quiet that had went on before. But Seifer had more to say. 

            "On his way out, he knows the motion detectors are going to trigger, but all this has been planned beforehand. None of this is going to come as a surprise. He knows the response times of our units, and he knows how long he has before we catch up with him. What he doesn't realize, however, is that we are patrolling that street at that particular time and the chase begins sooner than he expects. He has some sort of radio device; he radios the first guy; and tells him that he's gonna jump and needs a pick up," Seifer said, looking around the room. There was a murmur of individual conversation. Seifer realized that he had lost their concentration and walked out, leaving the job assigning to Raijin. 

            Seifer sat back down at his desk and stared out of the window. He turned what he had said over and over in his head. There was something missing. Could it have been that simple?

            No. Although it looked easy, months of preparation must have gone into it for it to have worked so successfully. Taking a deep breath and letting it go slowly, Seifer looked down at the file. Right; they knew exactly what they were looking for. This meant they'd cased the place before. They knew there was a bar, and they knew the response times. Seifer jumped out of his chair. 

            "Raijin, I need a copy of all the video security tapes from the Golden Jewel, er, at least 2 months prior to this attack to the present date. Also question the owner; I want a list of everyone who requested to look at those diamonds. The criminals knew they were there. They didn't just get lucky; they knew what they were after," Seifer ordered to the larger man. 

            "Right away, Sir." 

            Fujin, a new recruit, now entered the office with a stack of sorted papers. She peered at the case file as Seifer gazed out of the window, ignoring her. 

            "LOCAL?" 

            Seifer snapped his head round to look at her. 

            "What?" he asked, shocked that she had actually spoken to him. 

            "ARE THEY?" she asked, tapping the file. Seifer looked down at what she was tapping. 

            "I don't know. I don't think so," Seifer answered, feeling intimidated by this woman. 

            "STILL IN AREA," she said. It was a statement this time. Seifer was puzzled. 

            "You mean...they are still close by?" Seifer asked, feeling stupid at not considering this before. 

            "YES," she answered, without any emotion.     

            Seifer wrote the words 'still in the area' on the profile. 

            "Thank you. You work at division 6, correct?" Seifer asked whilst looking at the strange girl. 

            "YES," she replied in monotone, her un-patched eye looked at him with a questioning gaze.

            "You've just been promoted to division 5--my squad," Seifer said, smiling. 

            "Y..YES, SIR" she replied, slightly startled as she was ushered out of the room by a new face. 

            Seifer groaned. This had to be the most annoying man in the force, and that was saying something. Why couldn't people leave him alone for just one second?

            "S'up, Chief?" he asked, smiling as he placed more files on Seifer's desk. Seifer looked at him with the expression of someone trying desperately not to commit a murder. Unfazed, the man looked down at the note in his hand. "Oh, just had a call--another disappearance. A Miss Rinoa Heartilly." 

            "Doesn't ring any bells. She's not a regular disappearance. Send Biggs and Wedge out on that one," Seifer said, looking bored. 

            "Yes, Sir."   

            There was silence.

            "You realize that this is _Miss Heartilly,_ General Caraway's Daughter?" he asked. Seifer looked at him confused. 

            "But don't they live in Deling City?" Seifer asked, feeling very left out on all the news. 

            "Yeah, but they were on holiday, I think." 

            A look of surprise fluttered over Seifer's face. 

            "Tell Biggs it's a high priority case," Seifer said, ending the conversation. 

            The man opened his mouth to speak once more and then closed it again. A second look at Seifer's hardened face sent him scuttling away again. Seifer flopped down over his desk. 

            "Urgh, why are these robberies so damn good?!"  

*******

            "She's been out for longer than I would have liked." Quistis said, shining a light in Rinoa's drugged pupils. "Perhaps I over did it with the anesthesia." 

            "Nah, we did everything fine. Better let her sleep it off, though. What is there to wake up to anyway?" Selphie asked as she bounced a yoyo up and down. 

            "Squall's really worried, you know." Quistis said quietly. 

            The yoyo stopped. 

            "He didn't sleep at all." Selphie said, looking depressed. 

            "I wonder what she was up to at that time of night anyway. I mean that road has no street lamps! It's not exactly the place to take an evening bike ride, is it?" Quistis asked, sternly looking at Rinoa as though expecting an answer. 

            "Well, you know. There are probably loads of explanations!" Selphie said happily. Quistis looked unconvinced. "Well, I've got to finish the modifications on the walkie-talkies. You can manage without me, right? It's just that Squall will kill me if I don't get them finished," Selphie said, looking hopeful. Quistis sighed. 

            "No, no, I'll be fine. You go on and get the work done," Qusits said, checking once more over Rinoa's bandages. 

            Selphie smiled and bounced off to the other side of the warehouse, leaving Quistis alone. 

            Apart from Zell, who still hadn't emerged this morning from his bed, there was only Quistis and Selphie left in the building. Squall, who hadn't slept once, had been still awake when Quistis retired for the night. When she woke early this morning he had gone. Nobody knew where he had disappeared to, but since he was always taking off, it didn't cause that much alarm. Irvine was also out, shopping for the weekly supplies. Quistis hoped that he wouldn't buy any more of those dodgy sausages this week.  

            Quistis rubbed her eyes and looked down at the sleeping girl. Her mind swam with questions and worried thoughts. What would this girl be thinking when she woke? Was it wise to keep her here? But it didn't matter; it was up to Squall to make the decisions. Although she could advise, it was his word that ruled, and if Squall said she should stay, who was Quistis to question it?

            Loud clanking noises were heard once more from Selphie's direction and curses of "Argh-- Damn--Crap." Quistis smiled. If anything was going to wake up Rinoa, Selphie's frustration would. 

A/N: Thank you to my reviewers!

Danii – There's the answer to your question! Seifer's the goodie in this story. Woah, Seifer on the right side of the law, in my story?! Shocking!

Keiry  

Bianka-Chan – Possibly, but if people were hoping I'd bash Rinoa after knocking her flying across the road, I'm sorry to disappoint. Lol.  

Cassandra – Nah I'm not going to leave any of my fics. Ok I have in the past, but I'm determined to finish them this time!!

Exhile87 

Super-fantasy-pup 

Nuaro – Hey if you wanna send them, I'm sure I'll find a use for them!! 

The Angel of the Lion

Billie The Wild Angel 

Steel magnolia 

Labyris

Archangel_6~6~6

Trekken46 

Thank you guys and gals! 

Ps, Special thanks to Bianka-Chan for giving up her time once more!!


	3. Waking up and Meeting Cid

            **Chapter 3 – Waking up and Meeting Cid**

Rinoa awoke to a dull aching pain in her arm and head that felt that she had drank an excessive amount of alcohol. Her eyes were heavy, and it was only through sheer determination that she managed pry them open. Almost as soon as the room came into focus, somebody's face appeared above her. 

            "'Allo!" 

            Rinoa screamed, but this only caused her more pain. 

            "I'm Selphie, how you feeling? Do you want something to eat? Do you wanna use the bathroom? I'm watching TV, do you wanna join me?" 

            Rinoa felt she'd gone dizzy from all the fast questions and stared up blankly.

            "What happened?" Rinoa asked finally. 

            "You got knocked down. We fixed your arm though." Selphie replied as though nothing she had said was out of the ordinary. Rinoa felt herself begin to get worried. Knocked down? But last night was nothing but a blur.

            "I just remember pain, and someone carrying me." Rinoa said as she moved her limbs slightly to see if everything was working. They all seemed fine, except her arm which was feeling very heavy. Something was holding it down, and she was dreading seeing what it was. 

            "Oh yeah. That would have been Squall, he knocked you down." As soon as the words left the smiling girl, she suddenly grew pale. 

            "Selphie what are you doing?" Asked a more grown up voice from somewhere Rinoa couldn't see. 

            "She's awake!" Selphie said disappearing out of sight.

            "Hello dear, don't be frightened you're in no danger here. Selphie help me to sit her up." Quistis instructed in a calm and collected voice. Selphie grinned, glad to be of use, and held her hands in support under Rinoa's back as Quistis helped her sit up. 

            "What's wrong with my arm?" Rinoa asked as she looked at it. 

            "You hurt it when you fell. We fixed it the best we could, and I promise it looks much worse than it is." Quistis said. "You should try and stay still, the splint should keep it from being knocked, but it is fractured and you should be careful." 

            "Fractured? How badly?" Rinoa panicked.  

            "I couldn't tell, but it isn't badly fractured. You've been very lucky." 

            "Um, where am I? This isn't the hospital." Rinoa said looking around for the first time.

            "No, this isn't the hospital. I can't tell you where you are, but you can leave anytime you like. Although we will have blind-fold you so you can't find your way back." Quistis said seriously. Rinoa laughed. 

            "Yeah that's funny. No seriously, where am I?"

            "I am being serious. You cannot know our location." Quistis said looking at Rinoa sternly. 

            "Oh cut it out Quis. You'll give the girl a heart attack." Selphie said from behind her, a yoyo going up and down in her hand. "I'm making spaghetti, do ya want some?"

            Rinoa looked at her blankly, not sure who Selphie was talking to, but then realised it was her and nodded. 

            "Yes please, I am rather hungry." Rinoa said quietly. 

            "Great! I'll go boil some water." Selphie said before skipping off. 

            Rinoa wasn't sure what exactly it was these people were keeping her from finding out, but she didn't feel too threatened by it. In fact, the atmosphere felt rather happy and she found herself relaxing. The bright chipper girl in the yellow dress was now singing from the other side of the large warehouse, and Rinoa smiled as she tried to work out exactly what the building might have been used for. 

            "You get used to the decoration after a while. I'm afraid none of us are handy with a can of paint." Quistis said, following Rinoa's gaze. 

            "Oh no, it's very um, artistic." Rinoa said smiling. Quistis smiled back. This could hardly go any better; the girl was so calm! Even though they had told her basically nothing, she hadn't complained. 

            "My name is Quistis by the way." Quistis said holding out her hand. 

            "Rinoa Heartilly." Rinoa replied. Shaking it with the only hand she had working. 

            "I know, it's only rock and roll, but I like it..." Selphie sang over the hob as she stirred the spaghetti around the pot. "Yeaaah, I like it."

            "You'll get used to that as well." Quistis commented making Rinoa smile. 

            "How many of you live here?" Rinoa asked. 

            "We don't live here, we just sorta hangout. Ya know." Selphie said from the other side of the room. How she had heard the question was anyone's guess. 

            "There are five of us. Me, Selphie, Zell, Irvine and, um...Squall." 

            "Squall." Rinoa mused. "Where are they all?"

            Quistis opened her mouth to say something but was cut off. 

            "Honey I'm home! And I also brought in the shopping. Oh no, don't all rush to help me at once." Irvine shouted as he bashed his way through the door.

            "Shut up Irvy. Besides you're being rude, say hello to Rinoa." Selphie ordered, stopping Irvine's rambling speech from continuing. Irvine almost did a double take. 

            "Why, hello there little lady." He said tipping his hat. 

            "Hello." Rinoa replied unsure. 

            "Is Zell up yet?" Irvine asked as he placed the bags he was holding onto the table by Quistis. 

            "No. I hope he isn't ill." Quistis said looking though the bag, good, no sausages. 

            "That's what I was wondering. You know last night wasn't exactly the right weather for a swim, if you know what I mean." Irvine said looking at Quistis as if letting her know some great secret. 

            "Squall isn't back either. He hasn't called or anything." Quistis said, sounding like a worried mother. 

            "Ah, but when isn't that the norm?" Irvine said brushing the concern away. 

            "I know but, this time I think it's different." Quistis said, looking purposely at Rinoa, who had the good grace to pretend not to be listening. "You saw how he was." 

            "Quistis don't worry. Squall's perfectly capable to look after himself, besides we've got bigger things to be worrying about."

            "Yes you're right." Quistis said returning the smile to her face. "Sorry Rinoa, we've been ignoring you. I think Selphie's finished cooking, do you want to walk over, or shall I fetch you some."

            "Oh I'll walk. No, wait I think I need a sling..."

            A few minutes later Rinoa was given a scarf to use as a sling, and found herself serving spaghetti onto her plate with one hand. 

            "Need some help?" Irvine asked as he watched Rinoa struggle to wrap the pasta around her fork.

            "No it's ok. I'm doing better than I usually do with two hands anyway." Rinoa said smiling. 

            Before they could begin to relax and eat, there was a commotion happening from behind them. 

            "Spaghetti! All right!" Zell shouted running to the pot and throwing it into a bowl. 

            "Zell, come say Hi to Rinoa." Selphie called over to him. Zell almost jumped out of his skin, he hadn't been expecting anyone else to be here. 

            "Hey, um hello Rinoa." Zell said looking shy. 

            "Hi." Rinoa said.

            Zell slinked over to a chair and sat in it. He clearly wasn't ill.  

            "So, like where is Squall?" He asked after a pause. 

            "We don't know Zell. He left really early and hasn't contacted us since." Quistis informed him. 

            "Did he take the...you know?" Zell whispered. Rinoa strained to hear him, but she couldn't distinguish the words. 

            "Oh! I don't know." Quistis said feeling embarrassed. Why hadn't they checked the diamonds?   

            "Well, I bet that's where he's gone." Zell said convinced. 

            Squall parked his car so that it looked out across the river, from a secluded spot he had discovered once in a raid. The night's events played over and over in his head, but one in particular kept refusing to go away. The look on the girl's face before he had hit her was haunting him, pure terror, something he hadn't seen in a long time. He wanted to know if she was alright, but was too afraid to find out the answer. What if she could never walk again? Or worse if she died! Squall knew he'd never be able to forgive himself. 

            The bag of diamonds lay alone in the backseat of his car, and he gave them a fleeting glance before restarting the engine. He had been sitting there staring at the water for hours, but his thoughts were just as jumbled as they had been when he first arrived. But it had to be put aside now, he had work to do and he couldn't afford any mistakes this time. 

Somehow, he needed to get the diamonds from Esthar to Balamb within in the next two days. But that was easier said than done with the entire police force on the lookout. He had known others that had smuggled things through the borders by cutting holes in their skin and hiding the stuff underneath. Squall's dedication to his job didn't go that far, but he was prepared to carry them on himself rather than send them in cargo. Today however, they would be flown. 

            He congratulated himself on this plan that, he himself had devised. A long time ago he had helped out an acquaintance with some financial difficulties, where the collector's of the money were a little too eager to get it back. Never one to pass up a good opportunity, Squall had discovered all he could about this new ally, and had struck a bargain in return for his help. His name was Marno Kabrand, and he owned a set of small aeroplanes that he taught people how to fly in. This was going to be Squall's ticket out.

            Kabrand was busy cleaning one of his training planes when the engine of Squall's car caught his attention. His face changed from the happy smile it had wore moments ago, to a look of despair. 

            "I hoped I'd never see you again." He said dropping the sponge he was holding into a bucket of water. 

            "Now then, what sort of welcome is that for an old friend?" Squall asked sarcastically. "Listen, this isn't a social visit."

            "Yeah? Well that's what I was afraid of." 

            "Hey you wouldn't even be standing today if it wasn't for me. Does your wife know yet?" Squall hissed annoyed. Kabrand became even paler. 

            "No, and she must never find out." He warned, picking up the bucket and clutching it to him. 

            "Relax, your wife won't ever find out about that, if...you cooperate." Squall said smirking. He had known from the day he had seen Kabrand snivelling and begging for help, that it was a great opportunity to acquire future blackmail material. 

            "What do you need?" He asked worried. 

            "I need to get to Balamb without being bothered by the police, if you know what I mean." 

            "Is that all?" 

            "For now." Squall said worrying him further. 

            "Fine. When do you want to leave?" 

            "Now would be good." Squall said opening the back car door and taking out the bag which held the diamonds. 

            "What? Are you nuts?" 

            "Well, you know I could always just go have a little chat with your wife. You know about how I found her husband in an alleyway after loosing all his money in a card game." Squall threatened. 

            "Ok, we'll leave now. Just wait there, I have to go tell the Misses." He said walking away with his shoulders slouched. Squall sighed and pulled out his phone and tapped in a number. 

            "Quistis, I'm going to Balamb. How is...?" Squall trailed off. 

            "Oh my god Squall we were so worried! Are you ok? Rinoa is just fine." Quistis replied relieved. 

            "Good. Now listen I don't know what you told her, but lets just keep it simple ok. I'm not sure when I'm going to be back, but it should be tomorrow sometime." 

            "Alright. Just be careful ok." Quistis cautioned. 

            "You guys just hang tight till I get back. See you soon." Squall said before snapping the phone shut.

            Kabrand was busy starting the engine of his aeroplane now, and the droning noise of a slow propeller began to fill the air. 

            "Ready to go?" He called down from the cockpit. Squall nodded and climbed up behind him and shut the window over the top of them. 

            "Alright, lets go." 

            The plane's wheels touched back down on the ground three hours later, and Squall instructed the reluctant pilot to find a room for the night and meet him back on their makeshift airfield tomorrow morning. Kabrand had left quickly before Squall could order him to do anything else. However Squall had his mind on other things, he had to get to the main headquarters without anyone seeing him. 

He wasn't supposed to be in Balamb, in fact he had enough convictions to put him jail for the rest of his days. He had been caught for every type of burglary imaginable in his younger years, and by the time he was 15 he was the most wanted man on the island. 

            Balamb was a quiet fishing town, and with a reputation of a gentle day out. It was the perfect place for the headquarters of all the thieves and criminals of the world. No one would ever suspect this town of harbouring the worlds most wanted. 

            Squall snuck around the alleyways and kept in the shadows until he came to an old pub. Carefully he opened the door and shut it behind him. Inside were many people enjoying a drink or some lunch, and catching up on gossip and news. It was always busy in here, and that was the way they liked it, it made it easier to walk around unnoticed. Squall made his way to the barmaid and spoke the secret password. He was then showed to a door. 

            "There you go love." The barmaid said opening the door for him with a key.     

            "Thank you."              

            Squall walked down the steps that he knew so well and tapped in a code to open the main door. There was desk at the end of the darkened room, and behind it sat a man talking happily on the phone. This was Cid, the brains behind the criminal world. When Squall appeared in the doorway, the phone was immediately hung up. 

            "Ah, my favourite person." He said grinning. Everyone was Cid's favourite person when it suited him.  

            "I have something for you." Squall said walking over to the older man, and tipping the content of the bag onto the table. Cid's eyes lit up when he saw the shining stones hit the desk. 

            "I knew I could depend on you Squall. I was right to send you to Esthar." Cid said smugly, counting the diamonds back into the bag. "But, now there is something even better than diamonds. Squall I need you to go after it."

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed (Gosh there was lots of you!) I wasn't expecting so many. Ps, I'm without by beta and all alone. Please be gentle!

Etherealist

Keiry

AngelPrinczess29

Mariko

FF9Zidane

Nuaro (Thank you for the "Insults" I'll see if I can use them. Although they were very entertaining, I don't think I would personally be brave enough to ever say them. But then again, never say never!)

Karla3

steel magnolia 

oddball

kb

Liliangel

Bianka-Chan (Hey girl I've been a emailin' ya. I'm not sure they've been getting through though, I'm having problems with all my email adds. :( Hope to hear from you soon though!)

Archangel_666

Verdanii

XxSquall's angelxX

Rinoa Heartilly


	4. Cid’s new Raid

**A/N: **Update time, and I'm back with my beta! Thank you to everyone who reviewed so far.   

**Chapter 4—Cid's new Raid******

****

           In all his life Squall had never been asked to do something like this. Cid was asking him to do something much bigger than an ordinary raid, and it certainly wasn't going to be easy. Squall had bit his lip throughout Cid's explanations and had sat perfectly still, just letting the older man talk. He had met Cid when he had been five and had fallen into the crowd easily. 

           Cid seemed to have a collection of orphans in his organization, none of them belonging anywhere. Cid was a successful conman, and had made a lot of money over the years, but his sights were always set higher. Without wasting the opportunity, he had recruited people to him and set up a school with people taught how to live on the wrong side of the law. Of course not everyone could join; it had to be kept a secret and there were strict rules for the members. 

1) Anyone wishing to become part of the 'Garden' must have no emotional ties. 

This meant that you had to be completely on your own. No family, no partner, no children, and no friends (except those made through Garden)

2) Keep nothing in your life that you cannot walk away from in 5 seconds. 

This was extremely important. If you knew you were being chased, you had to leave everything and get out. There was no room for a fancy home or car, these sorts of things could get you killed. 

3) 50% of all raids come back to Garden as funding for the training of new recruits and the support of those teaching. 

4) Never rat on your friends.

5) To kill another member, permission must be given from the boss. 

           The list was almost endless, but they were the ones that really mattered, and they were the ones that everyone remembered. Garden was called Garden for only one reason: it had been founded in the pub garden, soon to become the headquarters. Squall thought this was a rather unglamorous reason, but it was the one the boss spread to stop rumours, and Squall wondered what the truth really was.

           "Squall, you will consider this?" Cid asked as Squall stood. 

           "You know I will," Squall replied confidently. The old man beamed and hit Squall on the back.

           "That's my boy!" he said, opening the door and ushering Squall out. "And remember, any problems..." 

           "Yes, I know. I get out," Squall said, letting the words speak for themselves out of practice. Cid frowned. 

           "I am being serious. You are the best we've got. You've single-handedly kept this organization going, and we wouldn't be able to survive without you," he said, changing his demeanour from jolly to sombre. Squall sighed and nodded. 

           "Ok, whatever. I have to go now," Squall said as he began to climb the stairs. Cid nodded but said nothing. He understood Squall valued silence above anything, and he let the young man go in peace. 

           Once outside, Squall let the fresh air into his lungs in a deep breath. He held it, and then let go. What Cid had asked him to do would take all the skills he had ever learned, and he certainly wasn't looking forward to going back to tell the gang. After a quick dinner in a small café, Squall decided to go and sleep off the worry in one of the many famous Balamb hotels. It wasn't long until he had to return, but he managed a few hours of sleep before the first rays of sunlight flooded into the room. 

           Looking at the watch on his wrist, Squall couldn't understand where all the night hours had gone. He certainly didn't feel refreshed. In fact, he felt more tired than he had before he had gone to sleep. But there was no time to ponder this as he had a flight to catch out of here. Pocketing once again the money he had gotten from selling the diamonds, Squall tied up his boots and left the small, rented room. 

           Kabrand was standing next to his plane, looking nervous as Squall walked up the stretch of field they had used as a runway. He rubbed his hands in anticipation and offered a half hearted smile towards Squall. 

           "Sleep well?" Squall asked sarcastically. 

           "Well, actually..." he began.

           "Yes. Well, that is fascinating. Let's just be going," Squall snapped, making his friend jump into action. 

           "Y-yes, Sir!" he stammered, jumping into the pilot's seat. Squall rolled his eyes and climbed in after, taking his time to get comfortable. They were in the air before Squall even thought about taking off.     

           The flight was bumpy, and Squall was glad he hadn't eaten anything that morning, as the turbulence was really starting to make him ill. 

           "N-nearly there!" the pilot shouted as he guided the plane back toward his home as best he could against the wind. 

           "Why are we landing the wrong side of the wind?" Squall asked, looking at the bright orange sock flying on a pole. 

           "It doesn't make any difference to a pilot like me!" Kabrand said smugly. "Plus, it's quicker to just land. It's only a drop out of the sky." 

           Squall didn't have the time to reply, as at that exact second the wheels touched the ground in a violent bump. He didn't know how the crazy pilot had managed his little feat of magic. By all rules of logic it should have been impossible to land at all, let alone survive.  

           "If this is a plan to scare me from asking you favours again..." Squall said quietly from the back seat. Kabrand grinned. 

           "No. But if it was, would it be working?" he asked, smiling. Squall just stared at him. "Okay, then..."

           "Look. This is for you," Squall said, holding out a few high numbered notes. Kabrand suddenly looked embarrassed.  

           "Aww, shucks," he said, blushing, but accepted the money nonetheless. Squall checked his watch for the time, and said his goodbyes; it was time to be getting back to the others. 

           Quistis was waiting outside of the building when Squall pulled through the falling down the gates. 

           "I wondered when you would be back," she said, frowning. Squall shrugged. "She wants to talk to you," she added as Squall walked past her. He stopped. 

           "Wants to talk to me? Wants?" Squall asked, emphasizing his sarcasm. "I almost kill the girl and she wants to talk to me?" 

           "Squall, when are you going to get over this guilt thing? It wasn't your fault that you hit her. She stepped in front of you, remember?" Quistis asked, annoyed. If Squall wasn't careful, he was going to end up depressed. 

           "Squall, she needs to talk to you. We can't answer any of her questions, and I think she would much rather speak to you anyway," Quistis tried again. 

           "Alright, fine. I'll speak to her. But there is something I need to tell you all afterwards. Cid has a new job for us, but I need to discuss it with you all. You're gonna love this one."

           "Oh, no. What's he want you to do this time?" 

           "Ha, wouldn't you like to know!" he said, walking into the building. 

           Squall placed the money from Cid into Quistis's hands and walked into the dark lobby before entering the main warehouse. He stopped abruptly when he saw the girl standing in the centre of the room. Her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on his face. 

           "Hello," she whispered finally. Squall slowly put down the jacket he was holding, never taking his eyes from her. 

           "Hello," he replied just as quietly. 

           "You must be Squall."

           "Yes. I'm Squall." 

           "I um, wanted to talk to you because um, well, I just did," Rinoa said, looking at her feet. Squall walked closer to her. 

           "Alright. Follow me," he ordered. Rinoa nodded and did what she was told. The rest of the spectators looked disappointed not to be able to hear the rest of the conversation, but then satisfied themselves by playing twister instead. 

           "I wanted to thank you for bringing me here. You could have just left me at the side of the road, but you didn't, so thank you." 

           "What do you mean thank you? Doesn't anybody realize what I did? I knocked you down!" Squall said, looking at her as if she was mad. 

           "No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking were I was going. I...I was running away you see, and I was in a hurry," Rinoa said, trying to explain through the embarrassment she was feeling.         

           Squall watched the delicate blush that spread over her cheeks as she looked everywhere but at him in the silence that followed. Squall let himself think about what had just been revealed. 

           "Running away?" he questioned, confused. 

           "It's a long story, but it all started at the beginning of summer. Father and I always take our holidays here. We stay in a house along the road where...Well, that night we had had an argument and I slammed the door, grabbed my bike and walked down into the road. Listen, I'm not blaming you, and I'm not going to tell the police what happened. But I do want to know where I am. No one will tell me," Rinoa said, sitting down on a chair as Squall seated himself on a bed staring at her. 

           "Rinoa. We are in a warehouse on the outskirts of Esthar. I can't give anything more exact than that, and I'm asking you not to ask me again. If you want to leave, tell me now, and I will take you anywhere you want to go. But you will be safe here, if you want to stay."

           Rinoa considered this.

           "But why won't you tell me? Will you get in to trouble or something if you do?" she asked innocently, but with a sarcastic tone behind it. 

           "Yes. It is a part of our religion. If we tell you, we will all burn in hell," Squall replied, watching her smile in response. 

           "That's bullshit," she decided. "Fine, you won't tell me. But you have to let me stay, and also you are not to ask any questions as to why I'm staying alright?"

           "Miss Heartilly, I believe we have a deal," Squall said, holding out his hand. Rinoa shook it awkwardly and relaxed in her chair. 

           "They told me you hadn't slept at all that night. Why?" she asked suddenly. Squall frowned. 

           "Why, I was worried about you," he said smoothly, but then changed his tone. "Your arm isn't hurting is it?"

           "Oh, no. It's just fine. Um, but I was wondering about what happened to my bike." 

           "Yes, well about that. I went back to the road early that night and collected it. Leaving it in the road would have been suspicious," Squall replied, hoping she wouldn't put two and two together and guess their secret.

           "Oh right. Getting rid of evidence I see," she said smirking. "Well, I'm gonna go watch TV or something, see if I've made the headlines. General's daughter lost. Sounds like a selling story, wouldn't you say?" 

           Squall looked confused. 

           "General's daughter? There are no General Heartilly's." 

           Rinoa shook her head. 

           "Oh, no. Heartilly was my mother's maiden name. It sounded so much nicer than Caraway. Besides, my mother always kept her maiden name even when she married," Rinoa explained. But still it did nothing to ease Squall's worried mind. He'd not only knocked over a girl, he'd knocked over the general's daughter. "But don't worry, like I said I won't tell them what happened if you keep your end of the bargain." 

           "Certainly." 

           "Well, I suppose you have things to do... I'll just go now," she said standing up. Squall nodded. "Your friends are really nice, you know? They've been so kind, especially Irvine." 

           "I bet," Squall muttered. Rinoa stopped walking for the door. 

           "Sorry?" she asked. Squall looked up. 

           "Yes, I know," he replied, deciding not to repeat his previous answer. She smiled and walked out, leaving him alone. 

           His plan now was to call the group together and discuss the raid Cid had proposed. But before he could stand up he found himself laying down on the soft pillow with his eyes closed. The plans would have to wait, for now all he wanted to do was sleep.     


	5. Underground Criminal Movement

Chapter 5

**Underground Criminal Movement**

Seifer kicked an apple core from where he'd dropped it onto the floor and watched it careen in to the bin. A report of a missing girl had been filed that morning, but that was as much as he knew, as no one had been bothered to come and tell him about it. But the way they were flapping around in the room next door made Seifer anxious to know what was happening. But the disturbance seemed not to be about what he thought, and soon a junior officer hurried into his office.

"Sir, a partial finger print has been found on hammer!"

Seifer widened his eyes in surprise.

"When?"

"Just now, Sir."

"Are they finding leads?" Seifer asked, knowing too well that it was too early for that.

"No, Sir, they haven't found anything yet," the junior replied, in a voice that was out of breath. Seifer nodded and sent him back out.

His peace was again broken as seconds later another officer crashed into the junior on the way out, and bustled into the office. Seifer looked up into a face he knew well.

"Good news about the print, hey?" the man asked, pushing files into a filing cabinet drawer.

"Maybe we'll actually get a lead on these bastards," Seifer said, staring at the fax in his hand. "Is there something else?"

"We have General Caraway in the interview room. It's his daughter that went missing last night," the man explained. Seifer grimaced.

"Shit, I'd hoped I'd never have to see him again," he admitted, getting up from his chair. "Is he waiting, Smith?"

Smith nodded curtly. Seifer bit the inside of his mouth and headed towards the door.

"SIR! SIR!" shouted the strange girl with the silver hair. Seifer searched his memory for her name but he'd forgotten it. "The diamonds have been found in Balamb. A man has just been brought in."

Seifer stared at her in disbelief. For ages they had nothing on the thieves, and now all the evidence was coming in at once.

"Excellent. Put him in room three until I'm ready to interview him," Seifer said authoritatively, walking away with a new spring in his step. Smith followed him into the room where Caraway waited and shut the door behind him.

"Good morning," Seifer said, taking a seat in front of the general. "Long time no see."

"And I would have liked to have kept it that way, but unfortunately, I had no choice but to see you," he replied haughtily. Seifer smirked.

"How's the army these days?" he asked as he readied a pen and paper.

"Much better without you in it," Caraway shot back, his short temper being shown. "I made the right choice to kick you out of it."

Seifer glared at him before clicking the pen so that the nib appeared at the end of it.

"Shall we?"

"My daughter is missing, and I want you to find her. We leave in a week, and I need to get back to work, so there can be no delays," Caraway said, folding his arms.

"Oh no, we wouldn't want you to miss your flight, would we?" Seifer said, disgusted. "Rinoa Heartilly is her name, correct?"

"Come on man, you know it is. Look, I'm willing to pay whatever you want, I just need her back," he said, annoyed.

"Why the hurry? From what I remember you two weren't ever very friendly," Seifer said, trying to squeeze as much personal information out of him as possible. You never knew when it could all come in handy.

"That is none of your concern. Rinoa has a pressing engagement to attend to, and I will not allow her to miss it!" he almost shouted, as if Rinoa's disappearance was Seifer's fault.

"Is that why she ran?"

"I do not need to tell you this," Caraway said determinedly. When it came to keeping up appearances, he always made sure he maintained an appearance of harmony within his family life, even if the reality was the opposite.

"Ah, but you do. I must now ask you to tell me everything that happened. Every detail, you understand?" Seifer said, ready to jot down anything. Caraway frowned.

"This goes no further than this room," he warned. Seifer pushed his note pad to Smith and concentrated on asking the questions.

"Of course,"

"Yes, we had an argument. Rinoa is to marry a man name Lieutenant Harden, but she is...reluctant. She left the house taking her bike with her. The next thing I knew there was a car screeching, and when I went outside to see what had happened, she was gone."

"And the car?"

"Gone too."

"I see. Smith, get team A ready and send them to the place Rinoa was last seen. You'll need to find that on the map. There may be tire marks, and I will need copies of these," Seifer ordered. Smith nodded and left the room.

"I have your word that you'll find her?" Caraway asked, showing a real concern for the first time. Seifer looked down at his hands.

"You know I'll do my best," he replied. Caraway sneered.

"So, you will punish me for not promising her to you? Seifer Almasy, your brief army career was never going to be anything but brief. Your best is not filling me with confidence. You better not screw this up like you have the diamond robberies," Caraway said spitefully.

"I think that is all," Seifer said, refusing to retaliate to the attack. "You can show yourself out."

Once outside of the room he began to breathe steadily again. But there was no time to relax, as a man was waiting in room three to be interrogated.

"Ready to play Good cop-Bad cop?" Smith asked as they walked down the corridor towards the said room. Seifer grinned.

"Always," he replied, pushing open the door. "Mr. Cray, how nice of you to visit us!"

Mr. Cray was a small, oily haired man, with a nervous look about him, and a glint in his eye that showed he'd betray his friends for a large enough sum. Seifer liked men like this. They were easily bribed, and then placed in prison for accepting a bribe.

"What do you want?" he asked, edging backwards in his chair. Seifer relaxed into his.

"Your recent stock of diamonds is rather exotic for a fishing town, wouldn't you say?" Seifer said, under questioning eyebrows. The man looked up, worried.

"I bought them legally, so you can't get me for anything," he said confidently.

"Tell me who sold them to you, and we will see that you will get off lightly," Seifer said, standing and leaning over the table intimidating. Cray looked down at his hands.

"I can't tell you," he replied shakily. Seifer sighed and straightened up.

"If you do not, you will be sent down for withholding evidence, and not to mention the number of other petty offences you have no doubt committed."

"Eighteen unpaid parking tickets, two allegations of assault, two attempts at mugging...quite a long list, Mr. Cray. All of them add up to years behind bars," Smith warned.

"I can't tell you. You don't understand; it's not just the thieves, there's a whole load of them. They'll kill me!"

"Who? Who will? Tell us and we'll get you into safe housing," Seifer shouted, frightening the man.

"Cid Kramer. But you won't find him. I can't tell you anymore, but he sold me the diamonds. I dunno where he got them," Cray blurted before lapsing into silence. Seifer breathed a sigh of relief. Some people were cowards when it came to lying, and thankfully today, he had just met one.

"Smith, see that Mr. Cray is placed in a cell until arrangements can be made. You are to remain in this country until you are given permission to leave it? Is that understood, Mr. Cray?" Seifer asked. Cray nodded, thankful to be leaving. "Good."

Seifer quickly mad his way back to the main briefing room and called a meeting.

"As well as fingerprints, we now have a link to the underground criminal movement. The UCM, as we will refer to it as, has been linked to a man called Cid Kramer. You there," he said, pointing. "Find out all you can about this man. As for the rest of you, reopen all the previous unsolved diamond robberies. The answers are in there somewhere."

Two hours later, the team Seifer had dispatched to collect a skid-mark returned with an unusual finding. The tire mark was almost exactly identical to the one left outside of the Golden Jewel. Previous assumptions had now been confirmed. There had been more than one of them.

The car had continued its journey after shaking its police tails, and had somehow collided with Rinoa Heartilly on its way. Being on the run, the driver would have not been able to report what had happened and had most likely taken the girl with him. Finding Heartilly would take them to the thieves and finding Cid Kramer could bring the whole thing down.

Selphie held the bullet up to her eye and frowned. She'd been polishing them for the past half hour and was annoyed that, even though she was only doing it because she was bored, they had not yet become shiny.

"Oh, I'm bored, and these things suck," she complained, throwing the bullet back into the box. Quistis rolled her eyes as she sat by her computer reprogramming maps and coordinates. "What you doing?"

"Moving the car swap ten miles north," she answered quietly, more aware than Selphie that Rinoa was dangerously close to them. "Keep your voice down."

"Oh, but I'm bored!"

"Then go and modify something. You always like doing that. Go put an acid spray onto that shotgun or whatever," Quistis said, hoping the girl would leave her alone before she made her bored also. Selphie groaned and wandered away.

"I'll make some cookies!" she called back.

"You do that," Quistis replied half-heartedly as she wrote a long instruction for the computer. "Come on! Work or I'll kill you!"

Rinoa watched as scenes of a high speed car chase zoomed across the television screen. It was footage of a diamond burglary that had happened a few nights before.

"Wow, did you see that?" Rinoa asked, excited as it showed shots of Zell's bike jumping from the bridge. Zell shifted in his chair and pretended to be amazed. "I wonder what happened to the rider. Do you think he died?"

"I hope not," Zell mumbled, watching as the chase was played again in slow motion and the voice-over commented on good handbrake skills.

"I wish I had a motorbike," Rinoa said dreamily.

Squall had only been asleep a few hours, but when he awoke Cid's raid was the only thing on his mind. Somehow he had to tell the team without making the Heartilly girl suspicious. Perhaps the best way of doing this would be to get rid of the girl for a while, but the question was: how?

Walking into the main warehouse, Squall saw that everything was much too calm for him to purpose something now, unless...

A new news bulletin began to play on the TV screen, and all attention was taken away from him and focused on the words the news reader was saying.

"Miss Rinoa Heartilly, General Caraway's daughter, has today been reported missing. She was last seen two nights ago when she left her house at around 3am"--a picture of Rinoa was then shown on the screen--"If anyone has any information, please go to your local police station."

"Oh, that's just great," Quistis moaned. "You couldn't knock over any old girl; it had to be the damn General's daughter!"

"She's gonna endanger us all! She has to leave," Zell said, speaking as if Rinoa was no longer there to hear him. Squall suddenly felt empathy for the girl. She hadn't asked for any of this.

"I'm not leaving!" she cried, stamping her foot, her little face contorted in anger. "I'll go to the police if you make me!"

Zell opened his mouth to shout back, but Squall cut him short.

"She's staying."

"She can't stay!"

"Err duh Zell, we let her go, your heard what she'll do, she rat us out," Selphie said appearing out of nowhere with a gun. Rinoa followed the gun with her eyes until Squall realised what she was seeing and ordered Selphie away.

"Where's Irvine?"

"Helping me fix the dent in your car!" Selphie hollered back. Squall sighed, if one man could defuse a situation like this, it would have been Irvine.

"Rinoa is going to stay, she has given her word that if she stays, she won't go to the police. Now forget what its saying on the news, I've got to speak to you all about what Cid said," Squall said trying to make everyone calm down. "Rinoa I need to speak to my friends, you can stay here," he ordered before walking away.

"Sorry," Zell muttered. Rinoa looked at him in surprise. "I was just scared the police would find you, and then us."

"Zell!" Quistis called, forcing him to walk away and leave Rinoa sat alone.

Squall and the rest of his team assembled in the room that they kept their cars in, it was cold in there, but it could not be helped.

"Alright, the next raid is going to be the biggest we've ever done," Squall said pulling out some papers from his pocket. "In two days time a new shipment of jewels is going to be brought in from Balamb, and placed in the Karter building."

"So far so good," Selphie said wiping her oil stained hands on her overalls. "I suppose we have to break into there right?"

"However did you guess?" Squall replied sarcastically. "Look, I'm not happy about doing this, but this raid could be the last. If we pull it off there is enough money in there for all of us and Cid's cut. We'd be able to do all of the things we've never been able to do before, and could leave his life behind."

"Oh, I'd buy a boat, and sail all over the world," Quistis said dreamily, her eyes became misty, and she stared at the wall as if looking out to sea.

"Well, I'd start my own car mechanics business in Fisherman Horizon, and I'd take every Saturday off," Selphie said joining Quistis in her dreaming. Squall rolled his eyes.

"For all I care you can buy cows and start a milkshake company. But what we need is the money."

"Ok, I'm in," Selphie said grinning. Zell agreed also, as did the rest, and so the devising of the plan fell to Squall, as usual.

Hearing the louder movements in the room next door, Rinoa panicked. Switching off the computer, she had just enough time to sit back in her chair in front of the TV before they all came back in. She gave them a small smile as they looked at her and then turned back to the TV in relief. What she had found was going to take a long time to get used to.

It wasn't until much later in the day that Rinoa ventured to speak about what she had found.

"Stolen diamonds hey? Pretty crazy," she said as she stared at the TV. The gang, minus Squall, all looked at one another nervously.

"Yeah, how about that," Selphie muttered stuffing cookies in to her mouth.

"Hmm, I wonder why the car they keep showing on the TV looks so much like the one you knocked me down with," Rinoa said sarcastically, her eyes darting in Squall's direction as she spoke. "Strange hey?"

"Stop it," Squall warned quietly. Rinoa laughed at him.

"I wonder how much they'd pay me for information..."

"You see that table," Squall said through grinned teeth. Rinoa nodded slightly afraid of him now. "There is a gun on there. I will take me less time to reach it than for you to reach the door."

Rinoa blinked at him, as Quistis tried to calm him down by placing her hand on his arm. Squall shrugged it off violently, and got up from his chair. He looked down at Rinoa for a second before walking away. Moments later they heard a motor start and what sounded like tires on gravel.

"Rule one here honey, don't piss Squall off," Selphie said bouncing off of her chair and walking the direction of where Squall had gone. "He's just running the engine," she told them all.

Irvine scowled.

"How come he can get it to run? I've been trying all day!"

Selphie shrugged and went outside to try and stop him leaving.


	6. Phone calls

                **Chapter 6**

                **Phone calls**

Squall drove down to the lake and sat staring out of the window at the large white birds landing on the water. The Heartilly girl was driving him nuts, and what was worse, he didn't know how much she knew about them. She could know everything, or she might only be guessing. Either way she needed to be silenced.

          The next raid was to be the last, and he'd be damned if he'd let some girl mess it up for them. This life of crime that had been fun when he had been young was now, at 25, beginning to take its toll. He'd become a fluent liar, barely ever telling the truth to anyone, not even his friends, and was constantly looking over his shoulder. Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and now that it was in reach, he was going to push everything out of the way to reach it.

          What Cid had proposed was going to take every ounce of, and recklessness that he could muster. It seemed as though every raid that they had ever been on had only been practice and every skill learned had been leading to this moment. The diamond stealers were about to take their biggest prize ever.

          Squall didn't return until sunset, and upon his arrival he found the place empty. Standing in the middle of the large warehouse, Squall looked around at the bare walls and peeling paint. Something wasn't right.

          "Hello?"

          "You're back then? I thought...well, I hoped, you'd driven off a cliff," Rinoa said from the direction of their makeshift kitchen. Squall smirked at the newspaper in his hands, and looked up.

          "Why, thank you," he replied, pulling his jacket from is shoulders and throwing it onto a chair. "Are you here alone?"

          "Hmm, it would seem that way, wouldn't it? Irvine and the rest of them went out," she answered, flicking on the main lights and causing a whirring sound to emit from the ceiling. "Probably looking for you," she added, smiling falsely. 

          "Oh," Squall said, walking towards her and placing the paper on a table. "You're on the front page."

          Rinoa faltered and turned her back on him.

          "I was on the T.V yesterday. I get around, don't I?" she replied sarcastically. "Don't you trust me to be alone here? Don't worry; I've already seen everything on your computer."

          "Yes, well, we need to a little chat about that, don't we?"

          Rinoa smiled to herself. Although last night Rinoa had found herself face to face with the darker side of Squall's personality, Rinoa had soon realized that he wasn't always like that. In fact, he mostly seemed quiet and thoughtful.

          "So, exactly what did you see?" he asked once Rinoa had finished washing up the dishes in the sink.

          "Maps of buildings, lists of jewellers, phone numbers, bank details, car garages..." Rinoa listed, watching Squall's expression grow graver every second. "But not that it matters because I won't be telling anyone--that is, if you don't kick me out."

          "Do you really expect me to believe that?" Squall asked, pulling a chair out from under the table and sitting down. "I know I said you can stay, but is that really _all_ you want?"

          Rinoa frowned, confused at what he was asking.

          "I don't understand. I don't want you to give me anything, if that's what you mean. I just don't want to go back to the life I had," Rinoa said, her eyes flickering over his face and then away. Unsure where to look, she stared at the soapy water.

          "I fail to see what was so terrible about being the general's daughter. Maybe you're just a spoiled brat who's trying out the whole running away thing. Is it fun yet?"

          "Well, you would think that, wouldn't you? Who are you anyway? You're no one. I wouldn't expect you to understand," Rinoa said, pulling the plug from the sink and watching it drain away. Her face was contorted in frustration, and when she finally did look back around Squall was smiling.

          "Yeah, what would I know?" he answered, a smirk on his face. "Ever lived away from Daddy before?"

          "No," Rinoa retorted angrily.

          "No," he repeated, looking intently at her. "No, I think _you_ have no idea."

          The doors opened before Rinoa could speak, and Selphie and Zell appeared laughing and pushing one another into the room. When they spotted the two at the kitchen, they smiled and headed towards them.

          "Oh, boy, did you miss some fun, Squall!" Selphie said, seating herself next to him and wrapping her arms around his middle. "Hmmm..." she began muttering before giggling hysterically into his shoulder.

          "Has she been drinking?" Squall asked, catching her before she fell off the chair.

          "Yeah, too much if you ask me. Come on, Selph, you need to go to bed," Zell answered, pulling her off her chair and away from Squall. Selphie stumbled off the chair and went to her room as instructed. They heard her giggle as she jumped onto the bed, and then there was silence. Zell peered in after her, and when satisfied that she was alright, he went to bed himself.   

          "I so wasn't hitting on that waiter, and I wasn't blushing either," Quistis said as she walked into the room. She smiled at Squall and headed to her computer. Squall could see instantly that she was the only one who hadn't been drinking.

          Irvine headed towards the kitchen with a bucket of what looked like fried chicken. At his arrival, Rinoa had turned a light shade of red. Squall looked from her to Irvine with a scowl on his face.

          "Hungry?" he asked, placing the bucket down and making sure to brush by Rinoa as he did so. She blushed even harder and smiled shyly at him. Catching Squall's eye, he stopped smiling. "What?"

          "I'm going to bed," Squall said firmly. If those two wanted to flirt with one another, he wasn't about to be a witness.

          Rinoa's flushed face suddenly turned a pale shade of grey. Clearly she hadn't expected to be left alone with Irvine so soon.

          "I will, too. I'll see you tomorrow," she said hastily, walking past Squall and heading to the bedroom.

          Irvine made an approving noise at the sight of her leaving them, but stopped when he saw Squall looking at him again with that disgusted expression on his face.

          "Aw, come on, man! She's, well-fine, what's wrong with you?" he asked, as if Squall's reaction to his admiring was a sign of some horrible disease. Squall just scowled and headed to his room.

          "Just leave her alone, alright?" he warned, walking away.

          "Oh, so you _are_ interested!"

          "No," Squall said quickly. "It's just that keeping her here's dangerous... Let's just not make it any more complicated."

          Seifer placed his half-eaten bacon roll on his desk and looked at his wall chart. Twenty-four raids. One wasted DNA test on a cat hair. Useless partial fingerprints. Cid Kramer and the newly named UCM.......and one missing girl. Something else was missing, and he couldn't see what it was. Sometimes he wished he were back in the army; all you had to do there was follow orders. What he wouldn't give to have someone think for him, even if it was only for a little while.

This Cid Kramer--that had been so easily betrayed by Mr. Cray--didn't seem to exist. But just because there were no records of him ever existing in society, didn't mean he didn't exist at all. Cid Kramer was most likely a self-given name, something like a code, and therefore must belong to someone. The man they had arrested clearly could tell them very little more. According to him, he never met with the same man more than once, and they had all been working for this Cid.

          This information had chilled him throughout his entire body. If what he was unveiling was to be believed, then it meant that every crime that had ever been committed, since whenever, were all connected. This thought had clearly only occurred to him, and until he had more proof, he wasn't about to announce it. Something this big and organized would be hard to believe, and he didn't want the men in his office to think he was losing his mind, especially since he was depending upon them so much right now.

          "It's too quiet now. Do you think they've stopped?" Smith asked as he doodled a picture of a bird onto an envelope. Seifer smiled grimly.

          "No way. They've a real taste for it now, and they're getting better. Why would they give that up?" 

          "I don't like this waiting around, Boss. It's making me jumpy."

          Seifer rubbed his face with his hands, making his tired eyes turn red around the edges. Smith began his doodle once more, and again there was silence.

          Rinoa awoke to find her clothes missing, and a dressing gown in their place. Frowning, she scrambled out of bed and wrapped it over the shirt she had been sleeping in. Wondering what had happened to them, she opened her door and collided with Squall.

          "Sorry," she mumbled, tugging the belt of the gown closer to cover her bare legs. Squall looked at her and then shrugged.

          "Quistis is washing your clothes. She'll bring you some new ones soon," Squall said, stepping back from her. Rinoa held together the top of her gown with her good arm and blushed. Nodding, she began to walk towards the bathroom. "Wait. Do you want to drive with me later? I need to go and see some people, but since you know _all about us,_ maybe you'd like to come with? You know, get some air."

          Rinoa stared at him for a moment. She didn't like him, and she certainly didn't trust his temper, but if it got her out of this prison for a while then she was willing to risk it.

          "Sure, ok," she answered unsteadily. He seemed to be fighting to get some words out into the uneasy silence, but remained silent.

          "Good, ok," he said, before leaving her standing alone.

          Rinoa frowned and then shrugged it away.

          Sitting in the stationary car waiting for him, Rinoa wished she hadn't bothered. They had stopped at a petrol station, and he'd been paying for the stuff for twenty minutes. Aware that she couldn't get out of the car in case somebody saw her, Rinoa folded her arms and waited. This was why she didn't like him, she decided. This and his constant tricky questions about her motives. Not that she had any motives, or at least she didn't think she did. All she knew was she was not going to return home.

         "You blindfold me for ten minutes, and then you make me wait in a petrol station. What's next? Because, you know, I can't wait! This trip has been really fun," Rinoa said sarcastically as Squall finally returned to the car. He looked at her as if he'd forgotten she was there.

          "I didn't say it would be fun," he answered turning the key. "You made that up by yourself."

          "Well, I would have expected more from a criminal,"

          "I'm only a criminal when I'm working," Squall replied before pulling out of the garage and onto the busy street once more. "I have to go do something; I won't be long."

          "That's what you said about the petrol."

          "Yes...the petrol," Squall muttered, not quite believing that she thought he'd only been getting petrol. Most of his time had been spent making phone calls to make sure he was expected at his next stop. "I need you to stay in the car."

          "Fine."

         Squall stopped outside a small rundown house, and stopped the engine. Rinoa looked out of the window in interest, and wondered why he had brought her here. Suddenly a thought ran through her head that maybe it had all been a trick, and he was planning on pulling her out of the car and leaving her here in this strange noisy neighbourhood.

          Saying nothing to her, Squall stepped out of the car and locked the door. Walking up to the house, the door opened for him, and Rinoa caught sight of a young woman with only a t-shirt on. The woman gave him a grin before Squall instructed her back inside. He wasn't long, and five minutes later Rinoa found herself started out of her thoughts at the sound of his key in the door.

          "What an interesting place…" she muttered as he drove back along the way they came. "Interesting friends, too."

          "I use that place to call overseas phones. They don't ask me questions, and I don't ask them any. Money buys you everything, Rinoa--even interesting friends," Squall said, driving faster now, and Rinoa sensed that they had come to the end of their journey. "Sorry it wasn't fun," he said after a long silence.

          Rinoa suddenly felt guilty. It wasn't his fault that they were in the situation that they were in, and he was clearly trying his best. The only problem was, he wasn't very good at it.

          "I'm guessing you haven't had many girlfriends," she said, looking at him as she waited for an answer. He smirked.

          "No, not many girlfriends," he answered as if it was a joke. "It's not a very good idea in my line of work."

          "No, I suppose not."

          Rinoa slept the entire night and awoke to find car engines running not far from her. Clambering out of her bed and padding to the door, Rinoa peered out to find herself greeted by a sight of three cars and two motorbikes parked in the warehouse. The usual tables and television had been moved out of the way, and in their place a man was talking to Squall about a noisily revving car.

          When Squall looked up and saw her, Rinoa ducked back into her room quickly. This must have been what his phone calls had been about, but as Rinoa tried to peer through the keyhole she wondered what he was going to do with them all.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but now that I've finished my exams updates should be more regular. Lots of hugs to **Bianka-Chan** for beta-ing.   


	7. The First Taste of Fame and Diamonds

**Chapter 7**

**The First Taste of Fame and Diamonds**

           Squall allowed Rinoa to sit on the newly moved sofa for the briefing. He had told no one about his decision, and so when she was not told to leave, everyone had questioned Squall. He hadn't answered their questions with anything but telling Rinoa to stay where she was. Rinoa felt uneasy in their presence, and she noticed that Quistis kept looking at her as if she shouldn't be there.

Squall, who had spent the morning driving people back and forth, collecting cars, and haggling prices, was now back in the warehouse. From what Rinoa had managed to overhear, most of the cars had been bought, but she was almost positive that she had heard the word stolen.

           "They've done an excellent job with the cleaning," Squall observed as he sat in the front seat of a small black sports car. Rinoa half-expected him to start making engine noises and pretend to drive it, by the way he was holding the steering wheel. But he didn't.

           Quistis opened the bonnet and looked inside at the engine.

           "Looks almost legitimate! If it wasn't for this little number here..." she said, looking at it closely. Selphie peered over her shoulder and snorted.

           "Who's going to notice that? It's only one number missing, and only someone who collected these cars would know that," she said knowingly. Quistis frowned.

           "What does cleaning mean?" Rinoa asked Zell, who was sat beside her watching the others inspect the last car.

           "Cleaning?" he asked, confused.

           Rinoa nodded. "Yeah. Squall said they'd done a good job on the cleaning."

           "Oh, cleaning, right. It means putting new number plates on a stolen car, faking tax disks and turning the mile clock back. We buy or trade cars from the guys that stole them; then we send them off for cleaning, and when we've finished with them we either keep them or sell them to make a profit," Zell explained to a wide-eyed Rinoa. "All illegal of course," he added, "but then so is stealing diamonds."

           "And just how did you steal those diamonds?"  Rinoa asked, intrigued. She had heard many police reports and journalist views on how it had been accomplished, but none of them seemed to match the people she knew. Apparently the team trying to catch them were not allowed to make more than their official statement, and so there was no clue as to what they knew and didn't.

           To find out more, Quistis had been trying to hack into the police databases for the past few days. But she had come upon wall upon wall of security and had had to abandon her search. The furthest she had managed to get had been to officer Almasy's files, and had been locked out by a password she couldn't crack. She knew it had to be a word, with one capital letter and a maximum of five numbers. She knew this because she had stumbled upon the account rules during her hacking. Loading an up a program that would send random words and letters into the computer, Quistis had left it working overnight, and even now it was still running.

           "The diamonds are old news, what we've got planned now is much more fun!" Zell said, crossing his legs up on the sofa in front of him and smiling at Selphie who was pretending to wash the windscreen.

           "I'm gonna shine this up real nice for you, Sir," Selphie said, rubbing her elbow on the windscreen. Squall made an angry sign out of the window with his fist.

           "Get out of the damn way!" he shouted before starting the engine and pressing the horn, making everyone jump. Selphie kicked the front tire.

           "Nobody drives away from my carwash!" she screeched, rushing around the other side of the car and jumping into the passenger side. "Yeehaw!" she screamed, flicking on the radio and the headlights.

           All those in front were instantly blinded and flung their hands up to shield their eyes. Music began filling the warehouse, making the dust on the floor vibrate.

           "Oh, turn it off!" Rinoa shouted over the noise, unable to stop smiling. She was answered by a crowd of laughter and Selphie hand jiving in the front of the car. Squall was looking in the glove box and handed Selphie something before turning off the engine, still allowing the music to keep playing.

           Selphie held up the papers that had been handed to her and grinned.

           "One careful owner, hey?" she shouted as she read. "We'll soon change that. How about five insane owners?"

           "I think my ears are bleeding," Irvine moaned, moving to the car and turning the whole thing off. Selphie gave him a very annoyed glance. "I'm not sure that even was a song, just a whole load of people screaming."

           Squall brought a large white board over to where Rinoa and Zell were sitting and turned it so that, when sat down, everyone would be able to see it. Inclining his head to the sofa in a hint to make everyone sit down, he began.

           "Ok guys, three cars, two motorbikes, five locations, and...five return taxi fares," he said, fixing a map onto one side of the board.

           "Wow, go Squall with the maths," Zell said, giving him a thumbs up. Squall looked around annoyed. "Sorry."

           "Zell, as punishment for being alive, you can take the black car to across the Zepher River, and out to the air field," Squall said, putting a pin into the location Zell was to take the car.

           Zell's mouth dropped.

           "But that's so far!"

           "That's the point," Squall said, reaching for another pin. "Quistis, you're taking the red motorbike south and to the garages near the bank. I already have someone there to watch it, so don't worry about locking it away. When we need to use it, he'll bring it out and leave the keys in the ignition."  

           Quistis nodded and looked over at the bike with an owning glance.

           "Irvine, the silver bike goes to the car swap we used last time," Squall instructed, placing another pin "and the red car I'll take out tonight since I've things to do. The last can stay here. Now Selphie, you haven't done this before, so if you want someone else to go with you, it'll have to wait until tomorrow..."

           Selphie looked worried.

           "What is it?" She asked.

           "I want you to take the silver car we've been using to the cleaners and try and sell it. I don't care what you get as long as it's enough for a cab back. We just need to get rid of it," Squall said, sending a sideways glance at Rinoa.

           Selphie nodded.

           "I can do that," she decided.

           Rinoa had the feeling that the reason they had all of these new cars was because Squall was worried that someone would connect her accident to them. But the fact that he was letting her listen to this, without insisting she be out of the room, or that the others should be guarded with what they say, confused her. Maybe by letting her listen to his plans, he hoped she would feel involved in whatever they were planning. Even though she had very little idea what it was.

           Squall had been very clever about what he had told her and allowed her to see. The others obviously didn't realize how useless she would be if she was forced to tell the police what she knew. She didn't know were they were, only that they were on the outskirts, and she only knew their first names and they could be false. She knew they had stolen the diamonds, but she didn't know how, and she could never prove it.

           Suddenly realizing that a pair of eyes were upon her, Rinoa looked around and caught Irvine staring at her. Not sure how to feel about this, she blushed and looked back down. This only seemed to encourage him, and he stared even more openly. She could have hugged Squall when he commanded Irvine's attention again. She had no idea what was being said now, as her head was so full of confused thoughts that everything else was a blur.

           "Rinoa?"

Rinoa jumped, she hadn't realized she'd been sitting alone, and she wondered how long she had been lost in her own thoughts.

"Yes?" she replied, looking up. Squall was looking at her with a frown on his face, as if he was thinking about something puzzling.

"Can you drive?" he asked, moving the board back to where it was kept, along with what looked like half a hand glider and a snowboard. Rinoa shook her head.

"No. Why?"

"I was just wondering if keeping you here with a car was such a good idea. You might decide to escape," he said, looking serious.

Rinoa burst out into a fit of laughter.

"You really don't trust me, do you? Look, if I leave here, I'd have to go home to my dad, who'd make me marry this really old creepy guy. Not to mention he'd probably beat me silly for running away in the first place. Maybe you should go out and meet my dad, and then you'll see why I've so keen to stay," Rinoa said, still smiling.

Selphie and Zell both gave them a wave as they started their vehicles and backed out of the large warehouse doors. Quistis had already left, and Irvine was still fussing with his jacket.

"I don't need to. He's been on the radio most of the night with a reward for your return," Squall said, sitting down opposite and relaxing in the chair. "What a charming fellow he is."

Rinoa smiled more shyly now and looked down at the floor. When he was being mean it was much easier to think of things to say, but when he smiled she found herself losing all her words. They sat in silence until Rinoa tried to move and knocked her arm.

"Are you ok?"  Squall asked as she winced. Rinoa nodded, but there were tears in her eyes and he saw them before she could blink them away. "Do want some pills or something?"

"No, it'll stop in a moment. I knocked it last night and it went away eventually," she replied, clutching it to her chest. "It's getting better now."

Irvine finally revved the motorbike engine and left through the doors. Squall followed the trail of smoke left behind and closed the doors, shutting out the sunlight.

"I'm sure Irvine could make it better," Squall said, watching her face take on all sort of emotions at that statement.

He walked back towards her, and Rinoa felt her heart start missing beats. 

"What's that suppose to mean?" she retorted. He shrugged.

"Thought _you_ could tell _me_," he said, as if knowing the answer. Rinoa wasn't sure how to answer, and she didn't know what Squall imagined he knew.

"I don't want to tell you anything," she said, standing up and walking to her room. To her horror Squall followed her.

"Is that because there is nothing to tell, or because it's too embarrassing?"  Squall asked, walking two steps behind her. Rinoa began to speed up until she was almost running, but a hand under her arm forced her to stop. Dragged roughly backwards, and almost stumbling into him, Rinoa pushed at his chest to get away.

"He's not good enough for you, Rinoa. He has a woman in every town; don't let him have you, too."

Rinoa resisted the urge to spit in his face. It was an instant reaction, and the thought of it disgusted her. How could think about doing something like that? But how dare he grab her like this, speak to her like this, and expect her to nod her head and obey? Other girls might, but there was no way she was going to.

"Get off me!" she shouted, hitting him harder. "Why do you care, anyway? I'm old enough to decide who I wanna see, and it's not as if it's gonna affect you."

"Well, I forbid it!" Squall hissed, shaking her hard enough for her sling to come undone. His grip slipped and Rinoa managed to pull away.

"Forbid this!" she screamed, slapping him hard across the face. Squall took hold of her too fast for her understand what was happening, and she was forced backwards into her bedroom. Pushing her through the door, Squall slammed it in her face and locked it from the outside.

Rinoa sprang back towards it and turned the handle. Becoming panicky when it wouldn't open, Rinoa hit her hand on the wooden panels.

"Let me out, you bastard!" she screamed hysterically, kicking the door frame screaming into the wall. "I know you're out there! Why don't you just admit it, psycho… You don't want me to get with Irvine because you want me. Isn't it? Well, come and get me then!"

Rinoa waited for a noise, but there was nothing, and she suddenly realized that she was alone. Letting the angry hot tears fall down her face she looked at her red hand--the blood collecting in the palm from where she had hit the door. And there was a small scratch that she brought to her mouth in an attempt to stop the stinging. The bastard had locked her in a room without a proper reason why, but she had also hit him; and even though she had considered it the only way stop him from hurting her arm, she'd still intentionally done it. Whereas Squall had probably not even realized that his actions had caused her any pain at all. But she wasn't about to forgive him for it, especially since he had just awoken the first real emotions she had felt since being here, hate, fear and excitement.

Struggling off of the floor from where she had sunk, Rinoa made her way to the bed and lay down. Her tears fell onto the pillow, leaving it cold and damp against her face, but she couldn't care. Whispering over and over to herself about the injustice she had just received, Rinoa found herself falling asleep.

Squall listened to her screaming as he walked away. The side of his face was stinging, and he was confused by his actions. Why should he care so much if Rinoa wanted to make herself one of Irvine's little sluts? She was impossible to frighten, since she seemed to have no real sense of danger. A life of comfort and having her own way had undoubtedly done that to her, and she was hardly required to think for herself in here, either. Maybe getting herself into trouble was the kind of wake up call that Rinoa Heartilly needed, yet he couldn't bring himself to see her name on Irvine's long list of conquests. For all her impossible nature, she didn't deserve her innocence to be so cruelly shattered by a one night stand, which was undoubtedly all Irvine was considering her as.

They would be leaving this place soon, and no one had any intentions of ever coming back again. After this raid was over, that was it. Everyone was to go their separate ways, and whether they stayed in touch was up to the person with the most motivation. As far as he was concerned, this had only ever been a job, a way for him to make the money he needed for the rest of his life, a life he was determined to live to the fullest. The gang had been changing over the years, members left and joined, until there was just him, Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine left working on the Esthar continent. Rinoa had just been a complication, but she was clueless to what they were planning next, and Squall was determined to keep it that way.

Ignoring her, he went to find the beeping that was coming from Quistis's computer. Taking a bottle of cola from the fridge, Squall moved the mouse to remove the screensaver and read the little grey box that had appeared. It seemed Quistis's program had got through officer Almasy's password and security walls. Tapping Quistis's number into his phone, Squall called her phone and waited. Hopefully she wasn't driving.

"Hello?" the far away voice asked ad the phone was answered.

"Your computer has just hacked into Seifer Almasy's account. How long do you have before our computer number appears in archives?" Squall said, speaking into the microphone that was attached to the headphones Quistis always wore.

"Ten minutes, but no one will check it until Sunday week," she replied. "Have a look around. You know your way around computers better than most. Just remember, if you're not sure, just click cancel."

"Yeah, I think I can manage that..." Squall said sarcastically as Quistis hung up.

Officer Almasy had a long list of petty investigations that were not yet finished, but the one Squall was looking for had its very own section and a large amount of files. This was too easy, he decided as he printed out pages of the file Almasy had labelled as "evidence".  He wasn't too far wrong in some of his theories, and one seemed as though he'd watched the whole thing on TV.

At the beginning of their diamond career, he and Selphie had stolen two large diamonds from a high-rise apartment. The raid had been planned a month in advance, and they had taken a hand-glider up to the roof of the building and successfully hidden it for three weeks. It hadn't been very big, as it had been designed for Selphie, who had weighed hardly anything.

Squall, who was dressed as a maintenance man had insisted a fuse had blown in room 102, and that he should be given a key. The rest was only too easy, leaving the diamonds in the roof of the elevator, and walking out of the building ten minutes later. Selphie had walked in dressed in an evening gown and had headed to the elevator without anyone stopping her. Taking the diamonds and heading for the roof, she had swapped the dress for a jumpsuit and had had hand-glided her way to freedom.

The story, when it had been made known, had been almost a present to the press. So many stories had been printed, and because the crime was so ridiculous it has sold every paper. But ridiculous or not, it had worked, and the gang had had their first taste of fame and diamonds.

Rinoa awoke to find herself in the dim light of the setting sun, and she gazed over to the wall clock to read the time. It was the late afternoon, and she wondered what she was doing sleeping. But suddenly she remembered that she had been locked in, and the feeling of being trapped returned. Climbing off the bed, Rinoa pulled at the door, but found it still locked. Looking around desperately, a window began to look like her only way out.

           Without thinking, she pulled the bed over to the side of the wall and stepped on top. Pulling the window pane open, Rinoa peered out and then pulled herself up onto the ledge. Swinging her legs out, Rinoa squeezed herself out and landed heavily on the grass below. Steadying herself with her only good arm, Rinoa crept along beside the wall and began to run towards the blinking lights in the distance.

           Quistis arrived back to find Squall at the computer. The headphones were over his ears, and so he didn't hear her when she spoke. It was only when she tapped him on the shoulder that he took them off.

           "Where's Rinoa?"

           Squall's face went pale and he jumped away from the computer, and walked quickly to the bedroom. Unlocking the door, Squall found the room empty and cold. A breeze was blowing in from the window, and showed clearly how Rinoa had left.

           "So, where is she?" Quistis asked again.

           "Gone."  


	8. The farewell

**Chapter eight**

**The farewell**

"Gone?" Quistis screamed. "What do you mean--gone? Squall, she'll go to the police. She knows everything!"

Squall took his jacket from the chair and pushed his arms into the sleeves. Quistis was still raving about Rinoa and calming her down looked a long way off.

"Quistis," Squall said, walking away from her. "What does she actually know? She knows only our location. We'll just have to vacate the place sooner than we expected is all, and losing a day of this dump could only be a good thing."

"Where are you going?" Quistis asked, just realizing that Squall was leaving.

Opening the warehouse doors to allow him to drive out, Squall turned to face her.

"I'm going to go find her," he answered. "Phone all the others and tell them to stay where I sent them too. If I don't find her, we might have to act more quickly."

Quistis nodded.

"Squall you will look carefully won't you? I don't fancy being on the run sooner than I expected."

Rinoa stared at the town that had looked so close yet had turned out to be a three-hour-walk. There was a deceiving dip in the landscape that couldn't be seen from the warehouse window, and it was that which had added all the extra time on to the journey. When she had begun it had been the late afternoon. Now it was beginning to get dark, and she realized she had left without any money or any plan.

Having no idea where she was, Rinoa wondered where the local police station was. Now that she was back out in the real world again, Rinoa was scared. She'd never had to really think for herself before, and now all she could fathom doing was returning to her father.

Sitting down on a bench on the outskirts of the town, Rinoa looked over the buildings in front of her. The outskirts looked run-down and old, and the deserted road that she had walked down now gave way to a busy street. Sighing and holding her arm since it had begun to hurt again, Rinoa wished she'd given Squall a second chance. That way she wouldn't be sitting in the cold on a damp wooden bench.

Seeing a car's headlights on the road she had left behind her, Rinoa jumped up from her bench and stood waiting. As the car approached much too fast for such a road, Rinoa looked down at her feet for something heavy.

Dust flew up into her face as the black car stopped beside her. The dark tinted window opened with a mechanical noise as it went down, and Rinoa could see Squall was driving. As she had hoped, he was alone.

"I was coming to look for you," he said, one hand on the gears, the other on the wheel.

Rinoa scoffed.

"Really?" she asked, holding the rock she had picked up tightly in one hand. "Thought I was on my way to the police, did you? Because I can't imagine it was for any other reason."

Squall looked away from her. She was right; he'd followed her only because of that one reason. Not because he feared she might get hurt on her own.

"Yeah, I thought so," Rinoa said, taking a step towards the car. "I should bash this rock through your windscreen."

"You wouldn't dare," Squall said, turning off the engine and opening his car door.

"Don't tell me what to do," Rinoa snapped, raising the rock above her head. "Come any closer, and I will."

"Look, I'm sorry I locked you in your room. It was immature, but you weren't exactly blameless," Squall said, ignoring Rinoa's warning about coming closer. "If you want to be a whore I won't stop you any longer."

"I hate you!" Rinoa screamed, bringing the rock down on the bonnet of the car. The rock made a dent in the perfect black metal and scratched away the paint. Not satisfied with the graze she'd made, Rinoa raised the rock again.

"What do you think you're doing?" Squall shouted, grabbing her arm roughly as she brought the rock down again. "Look what you've done!"

"Look what you've done to me, Squall! Just look at what _you've_ done!" Rinoa shouted, letting the rock drop from her hand. "My arm hurts so much," she whispered, letting tears of frustration fall down her face.

Squall released his hold on her arm. There was silence between them. The only sounds were those of the busy road in front of them and Rinoa's harsh breathing as she tired to calm herself. Not knowing what to say or do, and still angry about his car, Squall walked away to sit on the bench.

"There's no one at the warehouse, Rinoa. It doesn't matter what you tell the police. Where are you going now?"

Rinoa looked at him with her whole body shaking. Why did he always make her act like she was out of control? She hadn't done things like this when she had been living with her father, and none of the other people she had met since she'd run away had had this effect upon her.

"I don't know. I didn't think," she answered, tasting her tears that were still falling down her face. "I'm so sorry, Squall," she whispered before turning towards the town and walking away.

"Hey," Squall called, jogging a few steps to catch up with her. "This isn't a nice town to be alone in, even if you are bloody crazy. Let me buy you dinner, then come back with me. I'm not going to leave you here unless I know you're safe."

Rinoa continued to walk, her head down, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Or," Squall tried again, touching her shoulder to make her stop. "I could give you a life to the police station. You'd understand if I didn't come in, though, wouldn't you?"

Rinoa smiled and wiped the tears from her face.

"Dinner would be really nice," she replied quietly, biting her lip. "Sorry about your car," she added, looking back behind them and trying to wipe the smile off her face.

"It's stolen anyway," Squall said, shrugging. "What do I give a damn? It'll probably end up in the river at some point anyway," he added, leading the way back to his battered car. "Come on, before I change my mind."

Rinoa waited in the car as Squall parked on the side of the road and got out to use the cash point. Gazing into the mirror, Rinoa realised her eyes had gotten puffy and red from her tears, and her hair was looking very windswept. Flattening her hair with her hand, Rinoa tried to untangle the knots before Squall returned. Taking a deep breath and trying to will away the redness around her eyes, Rinoa folded her hands in her lap and waited.

"So, where do you want to go?" Squall asked as he restarted the engine. "And don't say the burger place. The music in there is annoying."

"I don't know any places here. Just nowhere expensive, please. I'm hardly dressed for anywhere like that," Rinoa answered, watching the buildings pass them by.

"Nowhere expensive, right. You know, I think I'm beginning to like you," Squall joked as they stopped for a red light.

Rinoa smiled.

"Look, how about we grab some Chinese and just head back? Then we can see if you're on the news again."

"Not to be rude, but didn't you promise to take me home if I should ask?" Rinoa asked.

"Yes…" Squall answered keeping his eyes on the road. "But I thought you didn't want to."

"I didn't, it's just…well, you're leaving soon, and at least it sounds like you are, so I just wondered whether you would take me somewhere I could stay."

"Rinoa if I take you somewhere, I will need your word you won't go to the police," Squall said slowing the car and looking at her.

"I give you my word," Rinoa replied seriously. "I could have gone to day had I wanted to. But I didn't. I'll give you time to get out of the city Squall, but beyond that I cannot promise. They will want to know where I've been, and I dare not lie."

"Alright, then I shall take you to the hostel. You don't need to pay, and it's a safe place to stay. But are you sure? Because once I take you there you cannot come back with us."

"I have to leave sometime Squall," Rinoa replied not really answering the question. "It's better if it was sooner rather than later."

Feeling his eyes on her, Rinoa tried to think of something to say, but her mind was blank. The only things she wanted answers to were things Squall probably didn't want to tell her.

Officer Almasy was speaking again on the radio, and talking to the public as if they all held vital clues that they should give up.

"_If you've seen anything suspicious_…" Squall mocked. "Just listen to that guy. He's almost as entertaining as your dad."

"I used to know him," Rinoa said. "He used to be in the army. Father doesn't like him much because, well, you know…" Rinoa trailed off. She didn't want to say because he had asked her to marry him; Squall would probably get weird again like the Irvine incident.

"The army? Well, that explains a lot. Wonder what he's doing out here--working for the police no less," Squall said, showing only mild interest.

Rinoa stared out of the window. It was raining now, and the rain droplets were being pushed roughly aside by the windscreen wipers. She wondered what she had even seen in the man behind the voice. He had occupied her thoughts everyday for two years. Now she barely thought of him at all. Perhaps her father had been right. She hadn't loved him at all. She'd just been seduced by the idea of being married.

"Lets listen the crime channel. That's always good for a laugh," Squall said, changing the station to that of someone speaking in a urgent voice.

"Why did you choose this life, Squall? You could have done so much more," Rinoa said, watching him watch the road.

"Not everyone has an easy start to life, Rinoa. People like myself just aren't expected to make it," Squall answered, switching the wipers on faster.

"But you could have proved them wrong!" Rinoa insisted.

"Prove to who? Who's going to care?" Squall snapped, turning to face her. Rinoa stopped watching him. "I make my money by stealing, so does the government. Let's not forget the rise in taxes this year."

"That isn't the same," Rinoa said, folding her arms.

"After this job there will be no need for me to steal anymore. Sure, I will have to lay low for a few years, but after that I'll be able to live my life the way I've always wanted to," Squall explained. "I'm not asking you to approve of the way I do things, but it's not about to change for anyone."

Rinoa nodded sadly. She couldn't judge Squall. Her life wasn't exactly a perfect one either, but she also couldn't help thinking something was about to go wrong.

Squall wished she could understand why he did what he did and understand the life of no choices but that of crime. But Rinoa was right to keep her distance from him; there was nothing he could offer her anyway except danger.

When Rinoa stepped out of the car and into the rain, Squall gave her meek smile.

"I suppose I'll be seeing you on the TV then soon. Missing Girl Found," he joked as she stood in the rain.

Rinoa shrugged and hugged her injured arm.

"It was nice meeting you Squall, and good luck," she said softly before turning her back on him and walking up the large concrete steps to the building in front of her. Hearing the car pull away behind her, Rinoa felt a tear running down her face. She now totally alone.

A/N: Apologies to everyone I have kept waiting by delaying this chapter for so long. Life just seems to get in the way of everything sometimes. Loads of hugs to Bianka-Chan for beta-ing! Any mistakes are mine because I messed this chapter about after it was edited.

Thank you to 'angelofthelions' for the prompting, an update might not have been written without your review.


	9. Missing Girl Found

**Chapter Nine**

**Missing Girl Found**

****

Two days later, Squall slammed a newspaper down hard on the table. The headline stood out for all too read and reflected in five pairs of eyes. Quistis looked ready to faint.

"No, Squall..." she whispered, her hands moving to pick it up. "It can't be true."

"It's true," he replied. "Every newspaper in town is selling it."

"I can't believe it. Why would she?" Quistis asked, her eyes pleading Squall for an answer.

Squall looked at the wall.

"Dunno," he answered before walking away.

Quistis threw the newspaper back onto the table and followed him. The words on the front page stared up at the ceiling.

**_Missing Girl Found_******

****_Rinoa Heartilly, Daughter of General Caraway, was found yesterday evening when she wandered into __CapeStone __police station. Claiming to have stayed in the company of people hiding from the police, questions have been asked as to whether __or not__ Heartilly now holds the answers to the recent diamond raids. _

"Squall, we have to get out of here. Damn it, that little bitch is going to destroy us all!" Quistis hissed, clenching her fists.

"It doesn't matter. We're going to do this tonight, and we'll be gone before she can tell them anything," Squall said, his voice low enough to make Quistis flinch. "Tell the others. I'll meet you outside the Karter building at ten."

Quistis watched him walk out of the building for the last time.

Selphie looked up at her as she walked back to them and reached for her hand as Quistis sat down.

"It's alright, Quis. Squall will make it alright."

Quistis smiled at the smaller girl, but her eyes were filled with tears.

"This is it, guys. The last raid we ever do; it's going to be done tonight, so let's have one last run through. Zell, get the plans," Quistis said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Then we'll torch this place."

The board was set up in front of the sofa, and Quistis stood by the side. A building's blueprint was pinned onto the board, and a large sheet of clear plastic was tacked on top of it.

"The Karter building. The most respectable, most securely protected, precious jewel store in the world. Nothing has ever been stolen from this building in the whole one hundred and seventy-five years that it has stood, which is why this is going to be the biggest raid the world has ever seen," Quistis said, sending her listeners imaginary visions of rooms filled with jewels. "Guys, we have been watching this building ever since our first raid. Everything we have ever stolen was first stored in that building; we know when they trade and deal; we know every security camera; and we know who we can bribe. This building is ours. Let's take what belongs to us."

Selphie squealed and grabbed on tightly to Irvine's arm.

"I can't believe the time is finally here!" she whispered, as if speaking loudly might make the moment disappear.

"I guess we have Rinoa to thank for that," Zell said. "Squall would never have done this so soon if it hadn't been for her."

"We can't take any chances. Rinoa may tell them nothing, yet we simply can't sit around here and wait. Thankfully, she doesn't know what were about to do, so for now we're still safe." Quistis said in a confident voice. "Besides, who would believe her? The Karter building is supposed to be unassailable."

"I suppose they'll have to rethink some of their security plans after tonight," Irvine said, making Selphie snort with laughter.

Quistis frowned at him.

"Only if you've got it right," she scolded.

"Of course I have," Irvine answered, annoyed. "When have I ever messed up a mission?"

Quistis laughed.

"A mission? You're sounding like Squall," she said before returning to the board. "Does everyone know what they are going to do?"

Everyone nodded at her.

"Good. Then Zell, you have a phone call to make. Irvine, you can carry outside all of the walkie-talkies and other things we will need tonight. Selphie..." she looked at the eager girl for a second. "You can help me douse this place with fuel."

The fuel containers were heavy and noisy as they were dragged along the floor. Selphie tipped the liquid over onto the cold stone floor, and dipped her mop into the rest. Wiping it up on the walls, and the wooden frames, she sighed at the strain on her arms. Quistis pulled pieces of newspaper out of the liquid and stuffed them into corners and gaps of the walls.

"This is taking longer than I thought it would," Quistis said, her voice sounding out of breath. "How you doing, Selph?"

"Alright," she answered. "But it's destroying my shoes."

Quistis looked down at her own shoes. Nothing they were wearing could be used again, not that she had expected it to be, but she didn't think it was going to be as bad as this.

"Maybe we should pour some over the roof," Quistis muttered as she climbed back down the ladder.

Selphie shook her head.

"I'm not climbing on the roof," she said firmly. Quistis agreed.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to grin and bare it, then."

Rinoa sat in the police station waiting. It had been almost thirteen hours since the call had been made to tell him that she was safe and still there was no sign of him. Eager as he was to have her found, it seemed he wasn't so keen to come and collect her. It was now eight in the morning and sleeping in a prison cell had hardly been a joy. But, since she had no money, there had been very little choice. Not that she had slept much anyway. Just lying down and resting her eyes had been enough.

The newspapers were now printing her story, and she wondered which of the men she had talked to last night had leaked the information. She could just imagine Squall's face as he read the headlines, how worried he would be that she would tell them where they were hiding, but he deserved that. Sighing, Rinoa decided not to think of him any more. That part of her life was over, however short it had been, and now she had to concentrate on other things, like what to tell the doctor when he came to look at her arm.

"Your father will be arriving soon," someone informed her as she stared into the opposite wall.

About time, too, she thought, giving the speaker a faint smile.

"And Officer Almasy would also like to speak to you."


	10. I Want My Lawyer!

Chapter Ten

Well, I never thought it would happen, but this fic has been updated! Thank you to everyone who reviewed urging me to write more, I listened!

"I wont speak to anyone until my father gets here, and I want a lawyer!" Rinoa said.

She might have returned, but that didn't mean she was going to make it easy for them, and certainly not for her father. Of course none of them knew that the reason she wanted a lawyer was not for this present questioning, but for defence against her father when he got her on her own.

"Miss, your father will be here soon, why don't we just wait in here," Officer Almasy opened the door to the questioning room, it was dark and imposing inside. "And we can talk about getting you a lawyer when he gets here."

Rinoa gave him a fowl stare.

"I'm not stupid you know."

Almasy looked tired, as if he wanted to shout at her. Clearly he wanted this interview over quickly, he would say to his colleagues later that he had felt tired and wanted to go home when his shift ended and not have to stay overtime to do the paperwork, but Rinoa knew it was because he didn't want to have to face her father.

He sighed heavily.

"Someone get this girl a lawyer!" he bellowed in the general direction of a group of people. No one moved at first, then they started going in different direction all at once. "Happy now?" he asked.

"I'll be happier when he's here," she replied folding her arms.

"Your father?"

"My lawyer, and I wont see my father until my lawyer is present."

Officer Almasy looked as if he couldn't take much more of this, and opened the door to the interviewing room again. He pulled Rinoa inside and nodded for one of the other officers to come inside also.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?" Rinoa demanded. "I have a bad arm, I'll sue you!"

She got no response from either of them, they just sat down, made her sit down on one of the chairs and began talking amongst themselves in such low voices that Rinoa couldn't hear them.

"What are you going to do now? Play good-cop bad-cop?" she asked snidely. They didn't respond. "Hey I'm talking to you!"

"Sirs, Miss Heartilly's lawyer is here, there is no sign yet of her father," someone told them after they had been sitting in the room for a few minutes in silence.

"Good," Rinoa told the messenger. "Send him in."

The messenger looked at Almasy for permission to do so.

"Yes, send him in, lets get this over with as quick as we can."

The lawyer was shown into the room, he looked around it displeased as if he'd seen much nicer interviewing rooms in his time. Rinoa gave him a smile, but he didn't return it, he was focused on the two officers.

"If you don't mind, I would like a moment alone with my client, there are some legal things I must explain before this interview can proceed."

"Certainly," Almasy replied standing to his feet, and the other officer following his lead. "We will wait outside, but let's get this done today, yes? Not next week."

When the officers were gone, the lawyer introduced himself.

"My name is Mr Katare, I've been following your case most closely over the past few weeks, I want to know everything that has been happening, since its clear that you haven't been kidnapped, so that I can help you during the interview," he said sitting down at the table next to Rinoa. "I want to know that anything you tell me is in complete confidence, and I would like you to sign here to show that I have explained that to you, and that you understand my hourly fee."

Rinoa looked at the fee amount, it was steep, but she wasn't planning on ever paying it. Her father would most likely be charged when she disappeared again as she was planning to do, only this time she would go better prepared.

"Sir this interview isn't the only reason I need your help, I need you to protect me from my father. I want to him to leave me alone. He wants me to marry this man, but I don't want to. I want my own life, but I know he's never going to let me have it. That's why I ran away. I wanted to get away, as far as I could, but when I learned that I was reported as missing and possibly kidnapped, I knew I had to come back because they would always be looking for me and I would have to hide away forever. I just want a normal life, I can support myself, I'll get a job, get a flat, I don't even care if I can't afford to feed myself, just as long as I'm away from that man!"

"Miss Heartilly, I will represent your case for you of course, but I must abide by the rules and ask you, have you considered this properly? Would you consider perhaps family counselling?" he asked. He held up his hand for silence when it looked like Rinoa might interrupt him. "I have to ask, please think hard before you answer."

Rinoa looked at the table and shook her head.

"It is completely out of the question," she replied.

"Right!" Mr Katare said clapping his hands. "Lets start with you running away, what provoked this?"

"We were arguing, about that guy I have to marry, and so I ran out of the house, grabbed my bike and ran out into the road. Well, that was a mistake, because I must have got knocked down, I don't really remember. Anyway, the bloke who ran be down did me a huge favour, of course he didn't know it at the time, but he put me in the back of the car and drove me off to where he and his friends where staying. Anyway one of them must have been trained in first aid or something because they fixed my arm and let me stay. That's about it."

Mr Katare looked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure you're telling me everything?" he asked, knowing she wasn't.

"Yes."

"So, who are these people? You must have known their names."

Rinoa shook her head.

"I promised I wouldn't tell. They're not exactly on the right side of the law. They didn't hurt me, except for you know, running me over, so I don't want to get them in trouble. They'll get their comeuppance one day, but they don't deserve it from me," Rinoa said firmly.

"It seems that they have very little relevance to the story you have told me, but I must warn you that you will not be helping yourself if the police believe you are withholding information. The papers are already linking your disappearance with those people who are responsible for the diamond robberies."

"I know nothing about that," she replied refusing to meet his eye.

"Are you sure?"

"I am going to get into trouble? All I wanted to do was run away! I just wanted to get away from my dad, not become a criminal!" Rinoa said, she never even considered that she might get into trouble for this.

"Miss, im not saying you're a criminal, but if you know something that may help the police, you must tell them."

Rinoa nodded. It was her or them, they were the criminals after all, and even though they had helped her, she was afraid of being in trouble."

"Lets just get through this interview shall we?" Katare asked. "Then we'll worry about your father."

Rinoa nodded and smiled at him gratefully.

"Ok, I'm ready."


	11. Evidence In Flames

**A/N: **Thank you to Bianka-chan for beta-ing this chapter for me! Here we are, shiny chapter eleven!!

**Chapter Eleven – Evidence In Flames**

Officer Almasy returned to the room. He smelt like cigarette smoke, which indicated he'd made the most of Rinoa's time with her lawyer, catching a quick break. His face looked drawn, and there were dark circles under his eyes from tiredness. He had a file under his arm and a pen behind his ear. A female officer also entered the room behind him and took a seat next to the tape machine.

"Right, are we ready to talk now?" Almasy asked as he seated himself.

Rinoa looked to her lawyer, he could answer for her as much as he could, for she knew that way she was more likely to keep her secrets secret.

"My client is ready to answer your questions," Mr. Katare answered, moving his own papers into a neater pile.

Almasy nodded.

"Miss Heartilly, care to tell us where you have been these past few days? You have had a lot of people worried about you, especially your father."

Rinoa snorted and rolled her eyes. Her lawyer put his hand on hers to stop her from saying anything she would regret. She was thankful for the reminder; she was about to say that her father wasn't concerned about her--more about what people would think of her disappearing.

"As to my client's father, it is her wish that she should not meet with him under these circumstances, and in fact we might soon be in the process of filing for a restraining order."

"Would your client not consider a supervised meeting, within the premises of course?" the female officer asked.

Rinoa didn't need to 'consider' anything.

"No," she answered. "I will not."

"Your father has requested to see you as soon as we are finished here," she tried again, obviously thinking she was speaking to some little girl who had a quarrel with her father and who would eventually come around, only Rinoa was determined never to see that man ever again. He'd controlled her life for much too long, and she was no longer a child.

"Well, you know where he can shove his request!"

"Can we please proceed?" the lawyer asked. "You are distressing my client."

"Certainly," Almasy replied, looking at him and then turning his attention on Rinoa. "We have reason to believe that you have been spending your time with a group of criminals. In fact, we have evidence to prove our suspicions. You might remember that you took a little drive one evening," he produced a photograph.

Rinoa looked at it. He was right. It was her in the passenger seat, but thankfully the photographer hadn't caught Squall, who at the time had been driving.

"Care to explain why you were in a stolen car?" Almasy asked.

"I would like to remind you that Miss Heartilly is not under any obligation to answer your questions."

"And I would like to remind you that if Miss Heartilly doesn't answer our questions, she will be arrested under this evidence and will have to answer our questions in order to avoid the implication of her actions."

Rinoa sat frozen in shock. She never thought for one moment she would ever get herself into trouble. She knew the photograph looked bad. She might not be driving the car, but she was certainly in it, and how could she prove that she hadn't been party to acquiring it?

She looked at her lawyer, who nodded at her. It was true what Almasy was saying, and she shuddered. She had a dim view of prison.

"Fine, but I'm not promising you'll get anything worth hearing from me. I don't know anything about these criminals," Rinoa said, folding her arms and sitting back in her chair. She tried to give an air of indifference.

"So, then, you do agree that you were in the company of criminals?" the female officer asked.

Rinoa's gaze darted to her lawyer; she didn't know what to say to avoid this question.

"I don't know if they were criminals," Rinoa said, unsure of herself. "Ok, so maybe they weren't saints, but they were nice people."

"Regardless of whether they were nice people or not, you might want to think about talking in order to save yourself from being any more entangled with them than you already are. We are prepared to waive this photograph in return for your information."

Rinoa sat in silence. It was obvious what she had to do. In order not to be brought before a judge she would have to start talking. She didn't need her lawyer to tell her that.

"Ok. I'll tell you, but it wont be much. They kept me away from discussions and plans," Rinoa said, waiting for an answer or a nod to continue. All she received was the tape player being turned on to record her words. "They took me to this warehouse on the outskirts of the town."

"Could you remember the exact location?"

"No, but I'd know it if I saw it again."

"Very good. Continue," the female officer said.

Rinoa took a deep breath.

"Like I said, they didn't include me in any plans. They let me stay because I had nowhere to go, and because I wanted to, and mainly because they knew _I_ _knew_ where they all were. We had a bargain; they gave me shelter in return for my silence."

"So what went wrong?"

"Well fell out, had an argument, and I escaped out of one of the windows. I made it into town, and that's when I realized I had to give myself in because I had nowhere to go. I knew I couldn't go back because they were all leaving, too."

Almasy stopped scribbling notes.

"Leaving, too? Where were they going?" he asked.

Rinoa shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me, but they were readying all their cars and vehicles and leaving one by one. They had something planned, but they wouldn't inform me, and to tell the truth I didn't care what they were doing. I had my own agenda, after all." Rinoa paused. This was harder than she thought it would be, mainly because she had nothing to tell. Squall had kept her more in the dark than she had imagined. She had felt herself to be one of them for a time, but in fact she knew nothing of them.

Almasy looked at her for some time, and Rinoa looked back at him, both waiting. He believed her story. These criminals were too clever to tell an outsider anything of what they were doing, and he also believed her when she said she was uncurious as to what they were up to. If he had a father like her's, he wouldn't have jeopardized an offer to stay by snooping about.

"Alright, Miss Heartilly, your story seems genuine, so now that you are no longer under investigation by the police, you won't mind giving us a full description of everyone that you met with and accompanying us to the edge of town to show us this warehouse."

Rinoa froze, and her heart seemed to miss a few beats as she realized she wasn't off the hook yet. This was going to go on and on until these people were caught, and if they were, it would be her own fault. She just hoped for their sakes they'd done as they said they were going to do and vacated their premises.

If giving evidence was hard work, Rinoa had no idea how much harder giving a description good enough for the police could be. It seemed they wanted to know everything, and since she had been living with them so long they wouldn't let her be vague; Rinoa quickly realized that this was what would catch her criminal friends, and so she lied.

"A beard?" Almasy asked. "And you say his name was Squall? And he had a full beard?"

"That's right. Look, I'm really tired now. Can't I go? I've answered all of your questions, and you've asked me so many, after all."

Almasy looked at her. She did look tired. He couldn't officially hold her for any longer than she was willing to stay, though he tried clever wording to make her think she had to say when she could have left at any time.

"You are nearly finished. You'll show us where this warehouse is, and then an officer will drive you to a safe-house where you may meet with your lawyer to discuss anything further," Almasy said. He waited for her to protest, but she just sighed.

The traffic on the roads was busy. It was five in the evening and everyone was coming home from work. It was dark out due to some heavy-looking black clouds gathering over head, and before they had reached the outskirts it was spitting with rain.

Rinoa was driven past many warehouses, but none were secluded enough to have been where she had stayed; she told Almasy this, and they took another route, going even farther out of town. They turned up a small dirt track that Rinoa said she recognized, and as the trees on either side of the road disappeared they were hit by a blaze of orange light. The driver slammed on the brakes fast, sending them sliding forward in their seats.

Almasy didn't want to ask, but knew he must, as his evidence was going up in flames.

"Yes, that's the place," Rinoa confirmed, looking at the building that was ablaze.

"Stay in the car," Almasy snarled, slamming the car door as he exited and leaving Rinoa alone and in the safety of the vehicle as he and his colleague stared at the flames and began radioing for assistance.

Rinoa watched in a daze as fire engines arrived, one after another and police officers searched the surrounding areas for clues. She supposed the building hadn't been on fire all that long, for most of it was still intact. The roof had collapsed, but the walls were still all there; therefore she guessed the officers were looking for the one that started the blaze. If it was one of her friends, she knew that they'd be looking in vain.


	12. Fake ID and the Key

**Chapter Twelve – The Fake ID and the Key**

Squall didn't have time to hang around after Rinoa had left them. It was time to make their plans reality and pull off the greatest heist ever recorded. He had four vehicles in four locations in the city. He had a black car stationed at the airfield across the Zepher River and a red motorbike in the town, parked in some garages not far from where the heist was to take place, a silver bike in the underground car swap, and a brand new car that he had traded for his old silver car. All of them were ready and waiting to pick up anybody left behind at the scene and to take them to wherever they needed to be.

The getaway engines were in place, but his team seemed a little unmotivated. After setting their home alight, everyone realized that they had nowhere to go and couldn't turn back. Squall felt this, too. It was an infectious fear that was swallowing them all. If they were caught tonight, they would spend the rest of their lives in prison, but if they succeeded, they would spend the rest of their lives in luxury. There was no longer any middle ground, no empty warehouse to hide in.

There was only one question on everybody's mind, and that was, would they succeed? Rather than call in favours from people, they had all taken taxis to their various locations. Squall had loathed the idea of letting strangers see them so up close on the day, but he was more afraid that those he bribed would give them away. He was hoping the taxi drivers would be too busy thinking of their fares and not thinking about them.

Quistis had the longest journey to make. She was going out to the airfield where she would later use the car that Zell had parked there to collect Zell and bring him, and the stolen item to the airplane. She was setting up her equipment inside the plane. This way there would not be a mad scramble at the last minute to pack the stuff away, in order to not leave any evidence behind.

The pilot of the plane was paid by their boss, Cid, so there was no need to disguise themselves in front of him, which was lucky because Quistis soon realized that she'd never be able to hide what she was doing to an outsider.

Selphie had managed to perfect the earpieces in the short time that was available to her. They all worked via radio to Quistis' computer. She was the one looking at all the video cameras, the road traffic, and had also hacked into the police alarm system, so that she would know exactly the moment that their alarms were triggered. She could send all this information to the gang by speaking into a microphone; they would receive it through their earpieces.

Irvine was dressed in the most convincing business suit that they could and would afford--nothing too flashy or cheap looking. He had to appear wealthy and important and not seem too rich for a business man. In his hand, he carried a suitcase, and, instead of being filled with what it was claiming to be filled with (information for the important meeting), it in fact contained every fake ID that the gang could manufacture or buy.

He was standing outside of the building when he phoned Quistis, looking up at the many windows and wondering if he would ever get inside and if they would ever pull this off, as it looked a long way to the top from the ground.

"Hi, Irvine. I'm still setting up. You got there already?" After a long pause of silence, which had made Irvine worry the call was being intercepted, Quistis spoke to him again. "The others haven't checked in yet, but they can't be far. The roads look pretty calm. Hold on, I'm getting another call…"

The line went silent for a while, and Irvine remained looking up at the building with a sick feeling in his stomach. The line buzzed and Quistis was back.

"They're all ready and set, so you can begin whenever you like. The foyer is pretty crowded, so it's perfect for slipping by unnoticed. So what would you like to know? I've got the cameras working."

"How about...is it a man or a woman on the desk?" Irvine asked. He had a feeling he'd have better luck with a woman.

"It's your lucky day, Irvine. It's a girl. Now, no flirting, as we need to move quickly, got it?" Quistis reminded and answered him.

Irvine rolled his eyes and hung up. Quistis could be annoying sometimes, especially now when she announced over the earpieces that 'Irvine was in the building' and 'Irvine was at the desk.' He supposed the others needed to know, but it was slightly alarming to be so watched and monitored.

The girl on the desk looked flustered, like she was having a bad day, and Irvine was only slightly sorry that he was about to make it ten times worse. She looked up at him and told him to wait a moment before he had even said anything. Finally she stopped tapping on her computer and looked at him wearily.

"Sorry to be such a bother. You are clearly very busy, but I'm here for the meeting on safe carbon emissions from the workplace, but like the idiot that I am I've gone and left my cardkey at the hotel."

The girl looked at him like he really was an idiot.

"I can't just go giving cardkeys out willy-nilly. I suppose your letter told you to bring it with you," she said. Irvine was about to try again, but she continued. "Let me see your ID."

"Mr. Alan Grants, director of the East Sheet Metal Company," Irvine said, handing over the ID.

Mr. Alan Grants was indeed invited to the meeting, but hopefully by the time he showed up they'd all be long gone. It was chance they had to take. Quistis had a camera pointed at his hotel front door so they would know his movements. They'd been watching him for weeks; he moved slowly.

"You check out," the girl said. "Look, I'll do you a favor. I'll let you use the elevator. Go and see the meetings organizer on floor 12, and she'll validate the card so that you can enter the room."

Irvine gave her the most genuine smile of gratitude that he could muster and set off for the elevator. He didn't need to validate the card. He was only going to go to the first floor, and he knew that he could enter that room without swiping his card, for it was a cafeteria.

Walking to the window to admire the view, he rested his arm on the open window frame. At that moment he let go of the card key and it fell to the ground below.

Squall was waiting outside, leaning against the wall, looking at the ice-cream shop over the road. He knew it was a very bad time for wanting an ice-cream, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. Finally, something hit the ground in front of him. It had fallen a fair way since it had landed with a heavy crack. He went over to retrieve it. It was Irvine's card key. He checked in with Quistis.

"Received card. Tell Selphie I'll see her inside."

"Right you are, boss!" Quistis told him. She then spoke over the earpieces to tell Irvine that Squall had the key and to tell Selphie to get inside.

Selphie and Squall looked at the lift. There was a slight queue so they hung back, but when it was clear they swiped their card and stepped inside.

"Ready?" Squall asked.

Selphie shook her head.

"Never."

**

* * *

**

**A/N:** Yes, sorry everyone, Rinoa lost her nerve once they began threatening her with prosecution… I think anyone would. I checked it out, according to British law you can get up to a five year prison sentence for being involved in stealing a car. Of course most people would lie and say that they didn't know it was stolen, but that's a bit of a risk.

Thank you for the reviews guys! And thank you to Bianka-Chan for beta-ing, especially this chapter, after your computer decided to die. Thank You!


	13. Trouble in Paradise

**Author's Note**: In order not to cause anyone any unnecessary confusion, the explanation is thus: Italics are events happening in the past, ordinary type is happening right now!

Also, I seem to be having a problem getting hold of Bianka-Chan, I don't know whether her computer's on the blink again, or if she's super busy, or if my email account has decided to play up. _(But whatever the case, I'm going to continue sending the updates, and hope you get back to me when you can.)_ Therefore peoples this chapter is full of my grammatical errors. I'm posting it now, because if I don't, I'll never get round to writing the next.

**Stardust Ray:** I'm forever writing Seifer as evil, so I thought I'd give him a break this time. He's not such a bad chap really, just a little messed up around sorceresses.

**Highway To The Dangerzone**

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Squall stood in front of the gang, behind him the plan-board looked at them all ominously. The board was covered in scribbles where the gang had changed their minds about certain aspects of the plan, and had made the subsequent changes._

_Squall had one hand in his pocket and one hand pointing to the red cross on the board._

"_Alright you lot, lets go over this plan one final time," he said, feeling for the first time since they had begun plotting, a pang of apprehension. "We will start with Irvine, since you'll be involved in stage one alone, our success all depends upon yours."_

"_No pressure then," Irvine muttered. _

"_Don't worry, I'll be right there with you, well, in spirit anyway," Quistis said playfully hitting his arm. "Whispering in your ear, telling you what you're doing wrong…" _

"_Enough messing about," Squall said stopping the fun. "This is important!"_

"_Yes boss!" Selphie replied saluting, receiving a snigger from Zell and a scowl from Squall._

"_Irvine you will be in charge of obtaining the key to the lift, without it we can't hope to reach floor 20 in time. Once you have obtained it you will take it to the first floor. The first floor is public domain, which means you can access it via a staircase, which will be your escape route later. Take the key and drop it out of the window; I will then collect it. Understood so far?"_

"_Get key, take it upstairs, drop it out the window, sorted," Irvine replied. _

"_Then it's mine and Squall's turn! Isn't that right?" Selphie said excitedly._

_Squall nodded. _

Squall and Selphie stood in silence as the elevator whirred it's way up the levels. It didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, passing each floor slowly and unaware of whom it was carrying within.

Squall looked at Selphie, her hands were shaking, but her eyes were focused. He couldn't be sure whether she was frightened or just excited, maybe both, but whatever she was feeling he knew he could count on her to play her part.

"_Between levels 20 and 21 I am going to stop the lift. It can only be stopped for 30 seconds before the maintenance staff are alerted, so Selphie you have to be fast. There is a hatch on the lift roof that will open up into the lift shaft. Selphie you must climb on top of the lift, and once there, stay still. Now the lift will go up slightly at first so remain where you are, as the lift descends grab the maintenance ladder." _

_Selphie gave Squall a 'thumbs up' to show that she understood him._

"_Remember to knock out the camera first," she then added._

Squall watched the numbers above the door illuminate one after the other, 17, 18, 19, 20…

His finger, already poised over the emergency stop button hit home, and the lift stopped with a jerk. A quick motion with his fist broke the CCTV camera, and with his other hand he undid the latch to the roof.

Selphie grabbed his shoulder and stepped into his laced fingers. As she was lifted up, she found herself looking up into the empty lift shaft, a chain running up into the darkness above. She looked down at Squall before he lifted her up higher and she found herself up on the top of the elevator.

"OK?" Squall asked her.

"Perfect," Selphie replied grinning. "See you later!"

Squall shut the hatch and turned his attention back to the control panel. He pressed button 20.

The lift continued up to floor 21 before changing direction and heading back down to floor 20, as the doors opened Squall had no idea if Selphie had made it to her destination safely, all he could do was concentrate on his part of the robbery and hope that they'd meet up again later.

"Squall," Quistis spoke in his ear, she'd just seen him appear in the surveillance camera. "You need to greet the woman on the desk in front of you, she'll ask you why you are here, but since you managed to get into the elevator she probably won't question very closely."

Squall heard a thud come from the ceiling above him, the sound gave him confidence, and he looked up trying to imagine what was going on up there. But he didn't have the time to wonder, not if he was opposed to attracting attention for loitering in the hallway. There was a buzz, and Quistis was shouting in his ear again.

"Get on with it Squall, or the woman is going to think you're lost."

Quistis was right, he had to get moving. The woman was already smiling at him, ready to answer any questions he might have, her customer services manual under the desk filled with all the answers.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked.

Squall looked at her, distracted momentarily by her polished red nails.

"Yes, I'm here to check the laser monitors in room five," Squall said, trying to sound as if he did this all day long.

Suddenly Quistis was speaking in his ear again, drowning out the woman's reply.

"Stall for time! Stall for time!" she shrieked.

"_Quistis, what do you mean there may be a problem, I thought you told me you could handle this?" Squall asked, trying to hold in his annoyance. _

_It was too late in the day to start wondering whether they would be able to pull it off. They had gone over this part, time and time again, and every time Squall had asked her, Quistis had assured him that she'd be able to do it. _

"_You must have seen the news, a few days ago the Karter building had a security scare, some kid managed to get up onto floor 13 without being stopped by security. Turns out the boy only wanted to make a delivery of some cakes and pastries and had gotten lost, but now they've upped the security in room five," Quistis told them all. _

_Everyone looked at her as if all their dreams had just been shattered. Dreams of lives far from this dead-end place, never worrying about money, never worrying about what was coming next, everyone had an idea of the life they wanted, and so Quistis' news made them all feel ill. _

"_Well, Quistis, what does that mean?" Squall asked. _

_Quistis took deep breath._

"_It means that rather than changing their security code once a week, they are now changing it once a day. This means of course that rather than hacking in earlier and finding it within their files before you go, I will have to find it once you are there."_

_There was silence again._

"_But," Selphie began. "You have so much to do already! You're already hacking into the security cameras, keeping control through the earpieces, and now you're_ _searching through files? How are you going to manage all of that?" _

_Quistis shook her head._

"_Maybe I could stay with Quistis? I could help her," Zell offered. _

"_You?" Irvine laughed. "You don't know a thing about computers, what are you going to do, stand and watch? Press the escape key? Delete, delete, delete?"_

_Zell folded his arms and sank back in his chair._

"_Like you know anything about computers," he muttered. _

"_Alright, enough. Quistis do you want Zell to help you? Don't be afraid of loosing friends now, we're all leaving soon anyway and I doubt that we'll see much of each other after this," Squall said putting all the pressure on Quistis. She looked at Zell, Irvine was right, he didn't know anything about computers, but she had no doubt that he'd learn fast, but then again, she couldn't take the chance._

"_I'll manage alone. We should stick to original plan, that's what we all know, I'll just have to work harder that's all."_

Squall's heart seemed to stop for one frightening moment, for that split second he thought it was all over. He couldn't imagine what the others would be feeling; Selphie hiding in some cramped space, Irvine creeping out of the building, Zell waiting patiently in the building opposite, Quistis frantically sorting out glitches; all of them waiting like himself with their hearts pounding in fear.

He looked at the woman and tried a friendly smile.

"Have you been working here long?" he asked trying to engage her in a conversation.

It was lucky that she happened to be fairly young, therefore making it more plausible that he was trying to chat her up. Not usually very good at this sort of thing, pretending seemed to be much easier, probably because he knew all was depending upon him holding her attention.

"About a year now," she replied.

He looked at her name badge.

"Alison," he said making her look up from her desk again. "I used to know an Alison once…"

Squall cringed inside; this was excruciatingly embarrassing, he couldn't think of anything interesting to say.

"Oh yeah?" the woman asked.

Surprisingly she seemed pretty interested in anything that he said, her job must be pretty boring, Squall thought.

----

Selphie looked at her hands, they were covered in flaked off black paint from the ladder rungs she had just climbed up. She had managed to climb into the air ducts fairly quickly once inside the elevator shaft, and was now sitting directly over the top of room five. She was still inspecting her hands when Quistis' worried shout bellowed into her ears.

Dragging her phone from her pocket, Selphie hit Quistis' number and waited. At first all she received was the engaged tone, so she tried again. She assumed the others were doing the same thing as her, checking into base, all worried about what was happening. Rather than answer her call, Quistis spoke to them all over the earpieces.

"I can't get the code!"


	14. Diamond Relieved

**Highway to the Danger Zone -- Chapter Fourteen **

**Diamond Relieved**

Squall waited nervously, the girl on the desk was still talking, luckily she seemed to be one of those people that found talking easy, and liked filling the silence. Squall nodded along with her words, agreeing whenever she paused, but his attention was all on the earpiece, and it's worrying silence.

"Would you excuse me for a moment," Squall said thinking fast. "I need to use the bathroom."

The girl stopped talking and switched back into helpdesk mode. She pointed him in the right direction and then returned to her work.

Meanwhile Quistis' computer was freezing on her, the combination decoder was spinning the same numbers over and over. Desperately she tried all sorts of key combinations until she seriously considered pulling the plug out the socket, and starting again.

Her phone was ringing on the desk beside her, reminding her with every shrill bleep that her friends were depending upon her. Quistis didn't answer them, she had nothing to tell them, nothing that they wouldn't have already guessed. It wasn't until Squall's name flashed up on the front of the phone screen that she answered.

Once she saw his name she knew their plans were all failing, he was supposed to be at the desk now, he shouldn't have time to call her.

"What the hell is going on?" Squall asked over the loud speaker, he could hear Quistis tapping away on the keyboard.

"Squall, I'll sort it OK, the computer froze, it's never happened before, but I'll sort it."

Squall paced the floor, thinking hard.

"Just restart it, begin again!"

"I can't, it'll take ages…" Qusitis said, but knowing that if something didn't happen soon she would have to restart, or call the whole thing off.

Nothing happened, the numbers kept spinning the same, holding her breath, Quistis hit restart. Suddenly everything went blank, then the program came back to life.

"What's going on?" Squall asked again. "I can't stall any longer."

Qusitis shook her head, she had no idea, it should have gone back to the beginning, and yet the computer had remembered all the previous entries.

Quistis smiled.

"Someone up there must like us Squall, because the code is 07835."

"Contact everyone, tell them I'm continuing," Squall said before hanging up.

He checked his watch, they could still make it, if they hurried. He walked down the corridor with purpose, past the woman on the desk who gave him a bright smile, and punched the number into the door keypad.

Squall shut the door behind him and heard Quistis speaking in his ear again.

"Selphie, execute plan," Quistis said, and Squall heard a scratching noise above him, as Selphie started moving. "Squall the next combination is 7724, that will open the safe."

With Selphie up in the ceiling, they had decided that that was the fastest way of getting into the room holding the diamond, rather than Squall being in the building all by himself. There was more chance of causing distractions and getting away with two, if it all happened to go wrong.

Before Squall knew it, Quistis was speaking again, telling them all in an excited voice that Selphie had the diamond, and that they needed to get out as quick as possible. Squall didn't know how Selphie had managed to climb down out of the ceiling, and then back again in such a quick time, but he couldn't stay to wonder. Back out into the corridor, he handed a form to the woman on the desk.

"Yes, everything is working fine, thank you for your time."

The woman smiled, looked at the form and then nodded. Squall didn't stay to be polite, but walked to the lift with his heart hammering. Was it possible that they had actually pulled off this plan? It seemed that they had been thinking about it forever, it had always been a dream, until now.

As the lift doors closed, and Squall began the journey back down the many floors, the hatch on the top of the lift opened and Selphie climbed down to meet him.

"Hey there, how's it going?" Selphie asked grinning, her face was glowing with excitement, and she was hopping from foot to foot, unable to keep still.

They stopped at floor five, it wasn't chosen at random, they knew the meeting in room four wouldn't begin for another hour, and that it would be empty. Leaving the safety of the lift, they hurried to the room and waited.

Zell was watching with his binoculars, as soon as he saw Squall and Selphie, he dropped them to the floor and reached for one of Selphie's inventions. Pointing the gun towards room four, he shot a wire towards them.

The wire shot through the open window and lodged itself in the wooden desk at the back of the room. Tying the wire tight, Selphie attached the diamond to the wire, and sent it zooming out of the Karter building and towards Zell.

"Well, I _was_ the richest woman here for a while, not anymore," Selphie said watching the precious item sliding down the zip-wire.

"As soon as Cid sees it, you'll be richer than ever," Squall said.

They were in no hurry now, they had given away the evidence, there was little that could be pinned upon them if they were caught now.

Quistis had scrambled the cameras, so that when the police replayed their tapes, all they would see would be blank screens. The only person who had seen them properly was the girl on the desk upstairs, but Squall was prepared to take the chance of being caught, he already had a story to tell the police if that happened.

They saw a silver car pull up outside the opposite building, and watched Zell climb in. The diamond was on it's way to Cid, Quistis would take Zell back to the plane, Irvine would be there already, that left just Squall and Selphie.

"Well, nothing to see here anymore," Selphie said putting her hands in her pockets and shrugging. "I guess we should go."

Squall nodded, following Selphie out of the room, and then out of the building, where the biggest robbery in history had just taken place.

They began their walk to where the motorbike was stationed, knowing that in ten minutes the security would start making their checks, and the robbery would be discovered.

"Selphie, wait," Squall said. "I want you to take the bike, I've got somewhere I need to be."

"What? I thought we were leaving?"

"You take the bike," Squall said again.

"No, you take it, I'll get a taxi to the station, I'll take a train," Selphie insisted, she began walking before Squall could protest.

She waved to him through the window of the taxi, and before Squall could return it, she was gone.

They were all heading in different directions, and they didn't know whether they would ever see each other again. The manhunt for them would be huge at first, but as the years went by, their lives might become normal again.

He hadn't told anyone what was on his mind. If he had, he would have said his reasons were to keep her from telling the police too much, or discovering what she had already told them, but he knew that wasn't completely true.

The truth was he wanted to apologise, and it felt strange. He knew he owed her nothing, and yet he felt he couldn't disappear into his new life without…

He didn't really know, but he hoped that he would, by the time he found her.


	15. An Offer

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it's take so long to update, it's been tricky writing this chapter. I'm not sure how many chapters are going to follow this one, but not too many or the story will start getting thin. Hope you like!!

**Chapter Fifteen--An Offer**

Once Rinoa had seen the fire blazing against the dark sky, a chill of fear had passed over her skin. She knew what it was, it was disappointment. They had not wondered where she was, they had continued with their lives as if she had never even been a part of it.

She had watched camera crews and fire engines arrive, all fighting to get near to the flames, all the while safe in the back of the police car. But the novelty soon wore off, and she found herself alone with only a dark possibility before her. She would have to go home.

Whilst the warehouse had existed, in her mind she had envisioned returning to find the gang within it, waiting for her. She had known from the moment she had walked out that she could never go back, but there had always been a dream. She might have found a clue there, as to where they had all gone. But it was all burning away now.

She had no money. No friends. Nowhere to stay. She had no choice, she had to go home.

Rinoa hung her head as Officer Almasy and his colleague got back into the car, they were going to return her to her father, and her freedom was over. She listened to Almasy talking on his radio, she didn't understand most of what he said, but a few times heard her own name mentioned.

"Miss Heartilly," Officer Almasy said, looking at her through the rear view mirror. "We're going to let you go without charge. It turns out the car was stolen when you were still living with your father."

Rinoa frowned, it took a while for her to understand what he was saying. Then she remembered they had a picture of her in Squall's stolen car. She felt her eyes sting, she felt like crying at the thought of Squall. She would never see him again.

She didn't realise how much she had changed since that day she had run away. She had been accepted, and liked, and she had thrown it all away in a moment of rage.

Rinoa's father was waiting at the police station, the same disappointed expression on his face that he usually wore when looking at her. He was standing on the station steps, a scarf wrapped around his neck, keeping out the chill.

Rinoa walked towards him meekly, she was ready for his anger, but instead all she received was indifference.

"Come back then have you?" he asked.

Rinoa nodded, she felt like crying again, and didn't really know why.

"We'll drive to Esthar, and take the train to Fisherman's Horizon."

He waited for her to protest, but she said nothing. Rinoa nodded, and followed him silently to his parked car, and climbed into the back. She didn't want to sit with him in the front, in the back she could curl up and pretend it wasn't happening.

As they pulled away, a motorbike revved it's engine and followed. Squall had headed straight to the police station once finishing the raid. He knew this was where Rinoa had gone, she had threatened as much, and if she had seen the warehouse then she would have had to turn herself in.

Squall didn't know how long he would have to wait outside, or if Rinoa was even still here, but as he stopped he saw a police car pass by. He saw a girl sitting in the back, her head bowed down. He watched closely as she got out of the car, it was Rinoa.

A man was there to meet her, an older man who Rinoa hung back from. Squall saw him try to touch her shoulder, but Rinoa moved away from him in a defeatist movement. The older man led Rinoa to a expensive car, where he opened the door for her. Shunning him, Rinoa opened the door to the backseat and climbed in. The man, who Squall now suspected was her father, slammed the car door shut, walked around to the driver's side and got in without a word. Barely a second passed and they were off.

Squall climbed back on his bike and proceeded after them. He was aware that if his bike had been seen at the crime scene, he might now be creating danger for himself. But he had no other transport, he had not planned for any of this, and being someone who usually planned for everything, he was taking a great risk.

Rinoa turned sideways in her seat, and hugged her legs close to her chest. Her father was driving with determination, overtaking anything that went too slowly for him. Rinoa looked behind her at the traffic they were leaving, and thought about how much had happened to her since they had come here. She saw a motorbike following behind them, overtaking the traffic when they did.

She rested her head against the car seat and closed her eyes.

They met the traffic jam at Esthar train station, and Rinoa opened her eyes to realise that she had fallen asleep and missed the journey. She followed her father into the station, him pushing their luggage on a trolley. He left her standing with the bags whilst he went to the customer service desk to enquire after a ticket.

Rinoa watched the people rushing by, all hurrying to get home, or on their travels. She watched until it all became a blur. She thought her father was taking a long time with the tickets. Then she saw someone unexpected.

Squall spotted Rinoa standing alone with the bags, she looked tired, her face pale and her hair hadn't been brushed, but she was still as he remembered. She turned to look his way, and her cheeks coloured a light pink. She looked away concerned, looking for her father, hoping that he was far away.

Squall walked closer, all the while knowing that he had no idea what to say to her. Her eyes were wide, alarmed and surprised. He could see he was making her nervous, because she kept scrunching the straps of her bag in her hands.

"I couldn't let you leave, not without saying sorry," Squall said.

Rinoa touched a lock of her hair nervously, and looked up at him shyly under her eyelashes.

"Why?"

"Because I had no right to say you should stay away from Irvine, and I shouldn't have grabbed you the way I did."

Rinoa looked down at the ground, before smiling.

"Well… I did damage your car then shopped you to the police, you I guess we are even… you didn't need to come all this way to say sorry."

Squall looked away, he shuffled his stance nervously.

"I didn't follow you all this way to only to say sorry, I came to offer you a job…if you want it…"

"What kind of job?" Rinoa asked intrigued.

Squall dug his hands into his pockets awkwardly. Rinoa realised she had never seen Squall acting in this way before, he had always been so in control of everything.

"I'm minus a crew, and you don't get along with your father, so I thought you might want to… join me?"

"I don't think I'd be very much help."

Squall nodded.

"So, that's a no?"

"No! I mean, it's not a no," Rinoa said.

She was about to change her life. There was no way she would ever return to her father's home, not when someone was offering her another chance at life. It might not have been ideal, she would be entering into a life that was the wrong side of the law, but it was better than no life at all.

"So, what's your latest plan?" she asked smiling.

"I don't actually have a plan… I just couldn't let you leave, knowing that I could offer you something else."

Rinoa blushed, her mind was working in a different way to what it should be.

"Something else?" she asked, hoping that maybe Squall was thinking the same as her. But she saw no flush of colour over his face.

"An alternative."

"So, you think I'll be happy with you?" she asked, again testing the waters. This time Squall looked away, catching on to what Rinoa was hinting at. She wanted to know what his intentions were towards her.

"I like you," Squall said with difficultly. Rinoa waited patiently for the rest. "And I don't want you to leave. Is that enough?"

Rinoa bit her lip. She might have wanted more, they had lived together, albeit not for very long, but the time they had spent together had been intense. They had been involved in something secret, they had been trusting each other without realising. Rinoa felt much closer to Squall than she would have thought she would.

"It's enough for now."

They stood looking at each other realising that they had just begun a new life together. It would be just them two now. No one else to depend on.

"Should I bring my bag?" Rinoa asked.

"No, I took the bike," Squall said. His eyes drifted to the place Rinoa's had been flickering to throughout their conversation. "We should go."

Rinoa abandoned her luggage for her father to find, and followed Squall to his bike. She took the crash helmet that he offered her, and climbed on behind him. She had no doubt that this bike was stolen, and that thought made it all the more exciting.

As they passed the traffic stuck in the jam, Rinoa laughed. She was free at last, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for they way things had turned out.


	16. The End and a New Beginning

**A/N: **Ok, so this is the final chapter! Whew, kinda took forever to get here… this chapter has been stuck in my head for months. I had many endings, and I rewrote the end again and again. Finally, I've decided, this is how the story ends. Many thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, and a Special thanks to my friend _Stardust Ray_.

**Chapter Sixteen**. The End and a New Beginning.

Whoever it was that had said "crime doesn't pay", probably in a very self-righteous voice, had clearly never tried it. That, or they were trying to throw you off the sent. The truth was, crime _did_ pay, and it paid pretty well.

Of course, you needed to be brave enough to try it. Stepping out of the ordinary world, where people lived according to rules created by far richer, and greedier people than them, was daunting. It was easy to obey the law, working hard for little reward. But if you decided to go your own way, then you had to be smart.

Squall had taught me that planning your operation down to the tiniest detail, didn't make you an obsessive, it made you clever. He said that "acting on impulse was what got people caught, make a mistake and it was game over." But then, he was always cool, calm, and confident… unlikely that it was an effort for him.

I came to see that you could hustle whatever you wanted these days, if you had the nerve. You could even manage to take without anyone getting hurt. At least no one who would miss the money anyway. Insurance companies picked up the pieces and quelled the damage, sweeping everything under the carpet.

Ok, so maybe their premiums went up, but you had to make a living somehow, and Squall and his friends weren't fussy.

* * *

Rinoa submerged herself underwater once more. The sun glittered upon the surface, golden on top of the blue, and the ripples spread out further and further from where Rinoa had disappeared.

They didn't live here, they didn't live anywhere in particular, they spent their time checking into hotels and living as if they were on permanent holiday. Champagne for breakfast, and whatever they wished for dinner, no rules.

Life with Squall was easy. He didn't mind where they stayed, or how Rinoa spent money on frivolous things, like room upgrades, and pink towels in the bathroom rather than the hotel standard white. It didn't matter; the money kept on coming in, and being in control of her own spending made Rinoa happy.

If she wanted a red sports car, then she bought one, and if the following week she wanted a blue one, she just traded it back in. It was freedom like she had never experienced, and it would take a long time before she would even think about being bored.

Rinoa and Squall's relationship was as confusing from the outside as it was in. Some days she loved him, some only as a friend, and other days a confusing questioning of 'would it ever have worked out between them?' arose. She told him often of her love for him, but he never repeated it back to her.

Somehow, Rinoa could never imagine Squall being in love with her.

The rule of the story, if you wanted it, you could take it… just use your smarts.

"**Who was I kidding? All of that written there…yeah, that's all lies. I made that up to feel better about myself. I don't live with Squall in a fancy hotel; I don't live with Squall full stop. I just pretend that I do. When the going gets rough, I close my eyes, and that's where I always end up. It's my what if. I think that I love him…" **

* * *

Squall and Rinoa didn't get far during their bid for freedom, as it had taken her father only a week to track her down. With the help of the recently promoted Seifer Almasy, they had found her on a CCTV video from a health food shop; after Rinoa's father made it known that Rinoa was fond of a particular, and unusual dried berry. It seemed unreal to Rinoa that her favourite source of vitamin C would be her downfall.

Her father had confronted her in the busy market street in front of her rented lodgings one morning, and Rinoa knew that she wouldn't be able to run this time. Fearing that by resisting her father she would lead the authorities to Squall, she had surrendered.

Squall had returned to an empty house, with bad news he was unwilling to share, only to find there was no one there to share it with. A letter on the kitchen table told him that Rinoa was gone, and that if he were wise he wouldn't go looking for her. She hadn't signed it, but it was definitely her handwriting.

He saw her the following day on TV, standing beside her father as he was being interviewed about some new army decisions. She was taking notes, and it looked as though her father had created a job of secretary for her, so that she'd always been under his watchful eye.

Not only had he lost Rinoa, his motivation for a new life, a new start, and a chance that he wouldn't ever have to be alone again, but Cid had screwed him over. It was supposed to be his retirement from crime, a line drawn under his past, but it was now denied him, by the very man who had created him.

Perhaps foolishly he had allowed himself to trust the man, but years of turning to this father figure in times of hardship, for much needed advice, had led him to believe that they respected one another. It had been a hard truth to learn that Cid only thought of him as a cash register.

He wasn't the only one in trouble. The rest of his gang were teetering on the edge of ruin. He had promised them all that he would take care of them, and it was their belief in him that had kept them all together. Now, scattered to the wind, his friends would be wondering what was to become of them, with no one to depend upon.

Squall supposed that it was some kind of poetic justice. A life of crime should never be rewarded after all. That was all well and good, but poetic justice didn't feed you, or provide shelter, nor did it give you means to look after someone else.

Squall never went after Rinoa. He didn't want her mixed up in his underworld of crime. The last raid was supposed to allow him to provide for her, the way she deserved. But how could he offer her his life now? Perpetual scraping of the barrel, occasionally sleeping rough, and always just a few steps from the grabbing hands of the law. Without his friends he was a small-time thief, getting nowhere, heading for jail.

Rinoa waited, every day hoping for news of Squall. She had made herself accessible. He would have seen her on TV, always in camera shot with her father. He could find her if he was looking. And yet she still waited, everyday a disappointment. She waited until the rational half of her brain told her that he wasn't going to save her again.

Realising that she was on her own, Rinoa had to face up to the fact that if she wanted her life to change, she had to be the one to make the break.

_Two Years Later._

Fisherman's Horizon was a quiet place, filled with people looking for a safe haven from the fast pace of the rest of the world. It seemed to be made up from scraps of other things, welded and joined together with expert care and attention. It was often said, that if you needed something fixing, there would be someone in FH able to sort it.

She was here because of the low prices on room rental. After proving to her father that she wasn't likely to disappear again, she had gained a sort of freedom, of being allowed to do most of her work from her home PC. But her job didn't pay enough to be able to afford rent in Galbadia, and so if she wanted to move out of her father's house, without the trappings of marriage to someone 'respectable', she needed to look further a-field.

The woman that showed her around the second floor flat warned her that there wasn't much to do there in the town, for young people. Rinoa just nodded. You couldn't have it all, the prices were low for a reason.

"I was looking for something a little bigger," Rinoa confessed, knowing full well that she was lucky even to see _this _flat; for the amount of money she was willing to spend.

"I've got something up by the mechanics yard," the woman said consulting the papers on the clipboard she was carrying. "It's a one bedroom house, but higher rent… and it does get a tad noisy during the day…"

Rinoa wondered why she was telling her that, unless it was really noisy and she needed to warn her, or if she was just desperate to get rid of the flat she was already showing.

"Oh…" Rinoa said disappointed.

"I don't have anything else on my books. Not in this price-range, sorry. I could give you a call if something becomes available?"

Rinoa bit her lip. If she waited for something perfect, she might be waiting forever, and that meant wasting her life away in her father's house. At least here she could pretend to be living. Her dreams had probably got the better of her anyway in this flat hunting search; it wasn't as if she'd be having millions of people to stay. It would be just her, and perhaps the dog she had been thinking about getting.

"No, I'm going to take it. Heck, you only live once right?" Rinoa said looking over the place with fresh enthusiasm.

With a few pictures on the wall, it'd soon brighten up.

"Excellent! Ok, shall we go through the contract?"

Rinoa stayed in the nearby hotel until her contract with the landlord was sorted. From the open window she could hear people working in the mechanics yard down below. The woman who had shown her the flat hadn't been lying about the noise, not only was there a lot of light-hearted banter, but many different radio stations playing out of the different garages. Depending on which way the wind blew, Rinoa heard different stations being carried her way on the air.

Going out to explore the town, Rinoa decided to start with the mechanic yard. There looked like there was some kind of shop at the end of a jetty, sticking out over the water, so she decided to make that her eventual destination.

Passing by many people working, Rinoa suddenly found her way blocked by what she thought was youngish boy, dressed in oil stained overalls and a baseball cap, inspecting something leaning against the wall. When she excused herself to step around him, she realised it wasn't a boy. The bright green eyes in the girl's face filled with recognition. It was Selphie.

* * *

It had taken Squall a year to get back on his feet. His mind had been plagued by revenge on Cid, and when he had had enough of Cid's constant promises of help, but nothing ever happening, he had shopped Cid to the police. Honour amongst thieves be damned, the man had it coming. In return he had ended up on some kind of witness protection list, as Cid knew some pretty violent people.

Selphie had appeared again in his life after his move to FH. She was working as a mechanic, having always been good with cars. It had been an obvious choice to work along side Selphie, and a year later the owner had retired, leaving them to run the shop.

Squall learned from Selphie, who it appeared had gone against his orders of not keeping contact, that he hadn't failed his friends after all. Backup plans of fake ID's, and references had allowed them to access the legitimate world.

Selphie had told him all about Zell and Irvine, who now worked as holiday reps, which equated to one long party and bikini clad girls on the beach, and that Quistis was using her computer skills devolving new programs for a small company hoping to soon hit it big. It seemed the only one who had had problems adjusting to a new way of life had been him. In return Squall had told Selphie all about Rinoa.

* * *

Rinoa stood frozen, her heart hammering. If Selphie was here, could she know how to find Squall? Or had they all lost track of one another like was planned? She couldn't make herself ask the question, too frightened of what the answer might be. Suddenly Selphie turned towards the garage and yelled.

"Squall!"

Rinoa looked alarmed as a shadow fell across the wall, before Squall walked out of the darkness of the garage. He was wearing the same kind of hat that Selphie was wearing, but removed it out of respect when he saw his visitor. He stood as frozen as Rinoa, unsure whether or not he was dreaming.

How could it be that they should find each other again in this backwater place? He had given her up for lost. His heart told him that this was what had been stopping him becoming attached to a new life. It was because he wasn't supposed to. He was always meant to drift here, to this place existing in nowhere, to meet her on this ordinary day.

Together they shared the same comforting thought. No matter what had happened before, they had always been destined to meet one another.


End file.
